Message posted by Griffon_314 on November 09, 2012 at 9:58:21 PST:
The most interesting aspect of the whole X-37B story, to me, is the question of what it's mission is? It appears poorly suited for IMINT (too small), SIGINT (too small, too low an orbit), and radar (the antenna array that deploys on orbit has been imaged and appears relatively small - too small for SAR imaging). So if it's doing reconnaissance imaging, it's hard to imagine what kind of sensor it would be, or why it would need to return to earth. Amateur satellite trackers haven't observed much in the way of on-orbit maneuvers, so its utility doesn't appear to be tied to maneuverability. Just a few years ago, the X-37 was a solution without a problem. Now, the USAF seems to have found repeated utility in the vehicle. Plausible theories as to why, are in short supply.
The USAF describes it as being useful for testing technologies in space over relatively long durations. Presumably, these are technologies that need to be returned from orbit - otherwise standard launch platforms would provide a less expensive and risky route to orbit. Imaging payloads don't need to return - they relay their images to ground electronically.
In Reply to: Re: The Chinese X37b posted by Gimbal on November 09, 2012 at 8:00:38 PST:
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