Is the X-37B the start of war in space?

IT'S one of the most anticipated space launches since the original manned space shuttle Columbia blasted off in 1982. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been sunk into it over nearly 20 years of research and development.
It's the X-37B.
And unfortunately, that's all we can tell you, because the unmanned spacecraft, which looks like a small shuttle, is one of the US military's most tightly guarded secrets.......

Read full article here:

www.news.com.au...

reply to post by Maxxximus187


And the Navy Space Command isnt??
www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by Maxxximus187


Hope this opens the public's eye about US's real Space Program. NASA's purpose is to distract the public away from the true Space Program -- military (Air Force & Navy).

So many military uses for X-37B. Here are some:

- Intercontinental bomber
- Anti-Satellite warfare
- High-altitude surveillance
- Orbital denial (prevent other nations access to orbit)
- Space Station boarding/takeover
- Orbital gunship (engaging ground/sea targets with crowbars/THOR shots)

Those are just the obvious. I'm sure the military has its own long-term plans for X-37B.

reply to post by guppy

Scientists have reacted angrily to the revelation that the US military is funding development of a weapon intended to deliver an "excrutiating bout of pain" from over a mile away. The "Pulsed Energy Projectile" (PEP) device "fires a laser pulse that generates a burst of expanding plasma when it hits something solid", the New Scientist explains. If you happen to be that something solid, then you get temporarily incapacitated without suffering permanent injury.

Link

This "Pulsed Energy Projectile" could easily be attached to the X-37B as a deadly weapon againist other nations

All very well it being an unmanned craft, but can it fix itself if something breaks or there's a problem?

That's a very expensive toy to blast beyond human reach isn't it, and the thing about ANYTHING manmade is it CAN go wrong.

I don't trust it myself... the purpose that is. If the pentagon has been involved it must have a nasty trick up it's sleeve and what will it do and what will the consequences be and for who?

I for one buy the idea that the X-37B is a test craft. That does not mean that military spacecraft will not be built based off of what is learned from the X-37B though.

This little ship could easily be to a space-weapons program what the Have Blue was to stealth aircraft. It's what comes after the test beds that will be really interesting, although I doubt we, the people of earth, will know much about any space-weapons programs for years and years after their introduction.

reply to post by ProjectJimmy


Good point ProjectJimmy.

X-37B is after all a prototype (hence the "X"). Then again the military and federal gov't is good a keeping secrets. The best way to hide a secret is in plain sight. Who knows what the X-37B is really being used for. Luckily, that's what these forum boards are for.

On a side note:

Lets hope people realize just because Russia and USA signed a treaty banning space-borne weaponry, it does not mean they are keeping their word.

If nuclear weapons were completely banned from the world, you can bet each nation who could would keep at least 1 nuke... just in case.

Originally posted by nerbot
All very well it being an unmanned craft, but can it fix itself if something breaks or there's a problem?

That's a very expensive toy to blast beyond human reach isn't it, and the thing about ANYTHING manmade is it CAN go wrong.

I don't trust it myself... the purpose that is. If the pentagon has been involved it must have a nasty trick up it's sleeve and what will it do and what will the consequences be and for who?

It would probably dock with the space station so that repairs could be performed there. Im thinking theres more to this too, being unmanned they could test any new nuclear propulsion they may have as shielding wont be a problem (for crew) and the long time its gonna be up there would give its reliability a good test run.

Nope.

They launched something else from California just after the "in the media" launch over in Florida.

Apparently a glider of some sort, that glided over the pacific or was capable of, around 21,000kmh.

Landed some 3,000km from Hawaii apparently, and supposedly they weren't going to recover it.

I think it's just what they said, a re-suable space lifeboat.
Why show the world what you have if it's a weapon and what type of significant payload could it carry into space? It wouldn't be worth the cost to get it there.
Only my opinion, if anything we'll probably see a few space projects on main stream news now that others have to step upto the plate now that NASA is retiring the shuttle. Can't wait to see what's next...

"hey everybody we might need to think about bringing the whole topic about the air force and boeing taking over the x-37b mission from nasa and it possibly be a form of space militarilization. x-37b is launching for the second time tomorrw. with the way things are going in the world with the north africa-middle east crisis and north korea threatening, this could be a real concern. and another odd thing. i heard the x-37b air force comand base is in colorado springs. doesnt the denver airport have those supposedly "underground bases". im just saying."

hey i know i posted this in another thread but this topic has been dead for a while and i want people to start thinking about this.

3/3/2011
Spaceflight Now:

An Atlas 5 rocket crowned with a covert U.S. Air Force space plane rolled to a Florida launch pad Thursday to begin final preps for blastoff with a secret cache of military experiments.

read more...


Fox News:

The U.S. Air Force is poised to launch its second robotic X-37B space plane on a secret mission Friday, with some experts speculating that the classified flight will test new spy satellite technologies.

[Russia and China;] ""They see the X-37B, at least in their public and diplomatic statements, as an example of the American space weapons program," Weeden told SPACE.com."

read more...

Are we seeing the U.S. military expanding their weapons platform to space, or yet another spy mission?

oh and of course;
U.S. Department of Defense News;
with nothing to report about the launch...