Well, I've always believed in a secret, 'second' space program. I subscribe (mostly) to the US having a base on the moon, and also on Mars. But I'm kind of whacky myself, so it fits. I do, however, have serious misgivings about any image said to be 'black ops' or any such type that shows 'UNITED STATES OF AMERICA' proudly emblazoned across it.

Just kind of throws up red flags, IMHO.

Your mileage may vary

I also think their might be a military version of Nasa. I cant say I think they would have a base on the moon. But I do think they would have a role to fix military space based weapons or satellites. I think there is more then enough money in the black budget for a single advanced shuttle perhaps even more then one thats a big piggy bank to tap into.

it is fake i mean its completely diffrent colour contrast to the plane.
but the USAF probably has space combat craft in development jointly with NASA.
the things learned there could help da space project?

[edit on 12-9-2004 by devilwasp]

id cut NASA out of any black ops, but the Air force is definently behind any military involvement in space, bu i seriously doubt that they built bases on Mars or the Moons. What would be the benefit? Anyone with a telescope could look and see a base, and then its blown and it wouldnt help any with reconaisance.

ok. i'll add some info now.

Yes this pic is posted on a website done by me, because when i cannot find a site that has the picture that I have on my harddrive I post the pic at Yahoo Geocities.

I found this pic 1 or so years ago, i think, I found it one the web (I have no CGI Skills), but i cant find it anymore, what i do sometime when im bores is i'll spend hours on end just digging around threw the web. So sorry, I dont remember where i got this.

I myself have studied this picture to try and varify if it is indeed real, But my conclusion would be its a 80% fake, 20% real.

OK, now about everyones favorite, The Canards. If ya look at them you will see that they look like there pointing more upward then sideways, so possibly having 4 tailfins, except I think there are not perfectly straight, they have a outward slant to them (Which would mean the bottom of the canard wouldn't need to be all carbon carbon.

and of course THE SHADOW, this also could go both ways, you could just say its the space shuttles shadow, or If the canards are more vertical then horizontale, it could make it look like where the sun hit could kinda blend the canard shadow into the wing shadow. Also a quick look at it makes you think that the wings "go out" quicker to the tip, but closer and you see that the wing could be gradualy outward by the black part right before the wing, whick then with the sun at the right spot could make it look like that.

As for the bottom, someone said, that it looks like the grey was airbrushed on. Maybe, unlike the space shuttle, it doen't use those stupid ceramic tiles. It could have a certain type of paint that gets applied everytime before it goes to space.

I'm not trying to sound like i'm defending this picture, but I just want people to be a little more open minded. and again, i didn't make it nor do I remember where I got it.

(completely unrelated - later i'll post a aurora pic i have, and i dont remember where i got it either, so dont ask.)

I'm perfectly prepared to accept most of what you have written there as possibilities, it all sounds perfectly plausible if you can keep an open mind but I agree with you that its most likely a fake (you say 80-20, I'd go more 90-10 but hey, whats 10%).

The bit I disagree with is the canards heat shielding (yes, they are my favourite ). They are angled upwards as you say but, the way I personally see it, because they are jutting out (even a little bit) they are fully exposed to the blast of re-entry and so, if they really are as depicted, they would burn right off. I also still think that they are utterly the wrong shape for this kind of craft, look at your own X-43 image that you posted as well, thats much more like it. Anyway, as I said, thats just the way I see it.

but look at the bottom of the canards, thay are black.

The edges and bottom would be all that needs to be reinforced.