X-37B Space Plane Proving Its Worth Above China (ContributorNetwork)

BBC News reports a new article in Spaceflight magazine believes the latest space plane developed by the United States is closely monitoring China's activities in Earth orbit. Other space experts believe the low-inclination orbit, unusual for spy satellites, is more capable of being utilized in Afghanistan and the Middle East, two places where the U.S. military has a heavy presence at the moment.

Here's a look at the X-37B's capabilities and missions thus far.

Construction

Boeing was given the contract to build the X-37B, also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), for the U.S. Air Force. Although similar in design to the newly-retired fleet of space shuttles, the OTV is one-quarter the size of the manned orbiters. The space plane is 29 feet long and 15 feet wide. Its cargo bay is roughly the size of pickup truck.

Many elements of the design are advances from the shuttles. First and foremost is that many functions can be pre-programmed to be automatic. The craft is also completely unmanned at this point. Space.com reported Boeing is studying the feasibility of using the X-37B as a cargo delivery system to the International Space Station and even building a bigger model capable of transporting astronauts to the gigantic orbital laboratory. Larger OTVs would be almost twice as large as the current model for handling astronauts.

How It Works

The secretive space plane is launched from an Atlas-5 rocket. Once in Earth orbit, the plane works autonomously without any instructions from the ground. Unmanned missions can last for months instead weeks. Payloads would have to be smaller than on normal shuttle missions, but many of the space shuttle's cargo revolved around huge parts of the International Space Station.

Missions

The first mission of the X-37B was launched in April 2010. The instrument was in orbit for 225 days when it landed in California on a specially-designed runway. That first mission tested the limits of the space plane. Its design limits typically allow it to stay in orbit for 270 days, far longer than any manned craft that would be short on supplies.

A second mission was launched in March 2011. It is still in orbit after nearly 300 days above the earth. A solar power array allows the plane to get more power from the sun while in space. Although both missions are top secret, trained trackers on the ground believe the orbit of the automated spacecraft take it along the same path as that of China's first space docking laboratory in space. Known as Tiangong 1 , the low-orbit lab is a first for China's fledgling space program that hopes to have a permanent manned outpost in space by 2020.

Future missions for the X-37B may include military uses but also for ferrying space tourists once the design is declassified years in the future.

William Browning is a research librarian.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120106/sc_ac/10798475_x37b_space_plane_proving_its_worth_above_china

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