US to launch secret 'space warplane'

Presstv

The United States Air Force has announced that it will launch a secret space plane that has sparked speculation about the militarization of space.

The Pentagon has set April 21 as the date for the launch of the robotic space plane known as the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), which is a reusable unmanned plane capable of long outer space missions at low orbits.

Since the nature of the project is shrouded in mystery, defense analysts allege that the US military is building the first generation of US 'space Predator drones' that will build up the United States' space armada, the Christian Science Monitor wrote in a recent article.

Drones in the space?
I don't know very much about the space but...if it flights against the rotation of the earth, this drone can attack any nation of the planet is just a few minutes, including their satellites.

reply to post by metalpr


Very interesting, but honestly you really should take the source into consideration here. That is Iran's news puppet...Not exactly the most un biased of news sources.

It comes across as propaganda to me... Do you have any links to other sources maybe?

If you don't find any other sources, then you should seriously doubt the credibility of this claim.

reply to post by gimme_some_truth

lol
sometimes ur enemies give u better intel
than ur own gov

www.theepochtimes.com...

Boeing’s secretive Phantom Works, under the direction of U.S. Air Force, plans to launch the compact X- 37B space plane on April 21. If successful, the plane will be the first robot spacecraft to complete an orbital mission.

According to space.com, the Air Force spokeswoman for the X-37B project Angie Blair said that the first mission will be intended to test out the vehicle’s subsystems, such as thermal retention, power and attitude controls, and power distribution. Blair added that the vehicle is built for carrying out 270-day missions.

Since the ship uses small but powerful electromechanical actuators, much of the weight present in the classic NASA shuttle can be eliminated, said Popular Mechanics. The compact X-37B does not need a crew to operate it, which reduces its weight even more, since it does not need hardware to maintain a pressurized compartment or facilities to carry supplies.

The success of X-37B is still a mystery, but it’s an exciting event for Boeing, NASA, and the Air Force to launch a spacecraft that can be used to spy and reposition satellites and then be able to return to base, said Popular Mechanics.

Who says NASA needs the Russian's to get into space!

[edit on 20-4-2010 by john124]

Space is already weaponised. This is just an upgrade! The amount of spy satellites up there that have weapons in them is enormous. Look at the hubble telescope. That's a killer satellite as well.

Originally posted by boondock-saint
reply to post by gimme_some_truth

 

lol
sometimes ur enemies give u better intel
than ur own gov

That's coming from the same country (Iran) who claims to have stealth planes, stealth missiles, and would wipe the floor with America's military and kill every enemy soldier.

news.yahoo.com...

The X-37B appears to be a vestige of the 1990s push by the Air Force and NASA for reusable vehicles, Handberg noted. He advised that the project may signify continued U.S. Air Force interest in a rapid response vehicle along the lines of the long-proposed space maneuver vehicle and the X-37B is their best shot for that type program.

"The second explanation is that of bureaucratic inertia in military programs which is why the justifications and cost estimates are so obscure and mysterious," Handberg said. "Once started, programs are difficult to kill especially when the proponents speak of marvelous capabilities analogous to aircraft style operation down the road."

A third reason, Handberg continued, is to think of this effort "as the logical extension of the push into unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) where vehicles used for observation have moved into weapon carriers and various of other missions, many classified." Indeed, one could build an architecture linking UAVs and such vehicles to give you truly global reach, he added.

In the global scheme of things, how might other nations perceive the X-37B flight?

"From the perspective of international observers — especially in space-aspiring states such as China, the X-37B program just reinforces their view that the U.S. is pushing to gain first mover advantage in rapid response including possible weaponization of space using this vehicle or a derivative," Handberg responded.

Possession of such a capability, Handberg said, would allow the U.S. to, in a sense, threaten other states by our possession of a rapid response capabilities that can — through payload swap out — go from peaceful reconnaissance to direct attack on other states' spacecraft.

Yahoo news also stating it can be used as a space weapon as well.

They announced the launch of a secret space plane? Ok...

This is why I laugh out loud when people start crying about "Letting the space shuttle Retire?!".. The space shuttle is so patheticly old technology, it's stone age. The US has all sorts of space vehicles flying around "out there"..

Originally posted by john124

Originally posted by boondock-saint
reply to post by gimme_some_truth

 

lol
sometimes ur enemies give u better intel
than ur own gov

That's coming from the same country (Iran) who claims to have stealth planes, stealth missiles, and would wipe the floor with America's military and kill every enemy soldier.

Iran said they would "wipe the floor with American's military and kill every enemy soldier" When did the president of Iran say this? Link?

Actually I agree that sometimes your enemy gives better intel.. It's not like the US hasn't lied before about space capabitilities..

Here is a picture of the early version of the X-37B!
A mini Shuttle! lol


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/bba212893b3c.jpg[/atsimg]

The X-37B

Its real, it exists. and its got it own wiki:
en.wikipedia.org...-37B_Orbital_Test_Vehicle

reply to post by Molan27

Iran said they would "wipe the floor with American's military and kill every enemy soldier" When did the president of Iran say this? Link?

www.iranfocus.com...

Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff declared on Thursday that if the US dares attack Iran, no US soldier would leave the region alive.

"If the US poses any threat to Iran, its country will encounter thousands of threats instead", the state-run Fars news agency quoted Staff Major General Hassan Firouzabadi as saying.

The comments coincided with statements made by Minister of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi who stated, "If the Zionists [Israelis] dare to target Iran, there will remain no trace of them", the official IRNA news agency reported.

Iran has long been accused of funding, training and supplying weaponry to terrorist militias in Iraq and Afghanistan leading to the deaths of hundreds of US soldiers.

Very bold to claim they'll wipe out all the zionists and US troops, and very unlikely.

And pressTV:

www.presstv.ir...

Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Hassan Firouzabadi has warned the US against making any military moves on the Islamic Republic.

Firouzabadi said that if the United States attacks Iran, none of the American troops in the region will go back home alive.

"If the US seriously threatens Iran and takes an action against Iran, none of the US soldiers in the region will return to America alive," Fars news agency quoted him as saying on Thursday.

Firouzabadi made the remarks in reaction to US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who said on Tuesday that Washington was keeping “all options” on the table for dealing with Iran and North Korea.

"If there is a message for Iran and North Korea here, it is that if you're going to play by the rules, if you're going to join the international community, then we will undertake certain obligations to you," AFP quoted Gates as saying.

Firouzabadi also said if the US takes action against Iran, the threats it would face increase exponentially and its economic problems skyrocket.

"If the US seriously threatens Iran and takes an action against Iran, the threats against it will become a thousand times more, its economic problems will increase and it will lose more markets," he said.

Firouzabadi's speech comes a day after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad condemned Washington's latest nuclear policy.

The policy authorizes the use of nuclear arms against nations which violate the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and Obama's mention of Iran is despite the fact that there is no credible evidence indicating Iran is violating the NPT.

In response to the new nuclear strategy, Ahmadinejad lambasted the plan and advised his US counterpart not to repeat the "past mistakes" of the previous US governments.

"I advise Mr Obama to be careful. If he tries to follow in the footsteps of Mr [George W.] Bush, the response of the [Iranian] nation will be the same crushing response they gave to Bush," President Ahmadinejad said in a speech in the northwestern city of Orumiyeh.

The 50-page "Nuclear Posture Review" (NPR) issued by the US administration was released on Tuesday. It purportedly restricts the use of US nuclear arms against some non-nuclear countries.

The new NPR by the Obama Administration restricts the use of US nuclear arms against some non-nuclear countries. Countries that “from the US perspective” do not comply with the NPT will be at risk of a possible nuclear attack.

The US has repeatedly accused Iran of failing to meet its obligations defined in the NPT — an allegation categorically denied by Tehran.

Iran was among the original countries that signed the NPT, a global pact aimed at curbing the spread of nuclear weapons across the globe.

Tehran says its nuclear work is monitored by the UN nuclear watchdog and is conducted in accordance with the NPT.

reply to post by Molan27

Actually I agree that sometimes your enemy gives better intel..

Yes when they have the means to discover the intel, but not these bunch of lunatics in Iran.