The Air Force’s X-37B is approaching a year in orbit.
The Air Force’s X-37B is approaching one year in orbit.
The ship in space now is on its second flight, and the third total flight of the program.
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The Air Force’s X-37B is approaching one year in orbit.
The ship in space now is on its second flight, and the third total flight of the program.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
I wish they would propose their X-37C maned crew transport craft. Much slicker then CST-100 – though NASA wants retro Apollo now a days.
It would be interesting to know if the x37c fully utilizes the capabilities of the Atlas V. Six crew may be all NASA would want on any given mission but in the long run, a vehicle that carries the maximum number of crew allowable by the capabilities of the launcher would be beneficial to Boeing’s other potential customers.
it is More involved than Both of your comments.
>..would be beneficial to Boeing’s other potential customers.
What other potential customers? Assuming you could get a launch down to $200M, with 6 folks that’s $33M a person. Hardly a price point thats going to explode maned space or space tourism. Bigelow only wanted 6 people per flight – and they have issues with market size.
…. I wonder what yo could do with a X-37 to expand it? it obviously has all the systems needed for a successful mini shuttle. Which is most of the high cost parts of a bigger shuttle. It can’t get to much better on the nose of a Atlas before you reach the atlases limits – but you could expand it to add internal upper stage capabilities? I’E if it used the First stage of the Atlas (or another booster) and absorbed upper stage delta-V duties, at the least you could save a lot of expense over the expendable stage. Shuttle saved a mint in direct per launch costs with the orbiter that way. (Not that it maters when you have NASA overhead adn demand for high costs, and only fly a couple times a year.) such a craft would be a lot more marketable then a Deamchaser.
You know the X-37B is a real example of why I roll my eyes and lose my patience when NewSpace fans talk about how rapidly NewSpace companies are in developing cutting edge technologies. While SpaceX, and Blue Origin, and a long list of others spend a decade struggling to redo half century old designs with no real improvements, heres Boeings little quite project to do a dramatically more advanced mini shuttle. Much more advanced technology.. Fully automated. Spending a year in orbit doing various high energy maneuvers in orbit. No muss, no fuss. Just works.
This looks like a recoverable satellite, autonomous operation and auto recovery with long cycles in the sky.
That’s not a bad idea. It would allow rapid upgrades, not require the heavy upfront fuel loads for a decade of service, equipment designed for decades of operation without servicing, etc, but I’m not sure the DOD is interested in that versus just parking a bird up there for a decade or two.