X-37B ..... la missione continua .....

[richelieu]

La missione del secondo esemplare del veicolo orbitale senza pilota X-37B, ad oltre un anno dal suo lancio, prosegue ..... sempre avvolta nel massimo segreto .....

Secondo quanto dichiarato dal Generale Shelton, comandante dello Air Force Space Command, lo "spazioplano" non avrà un successore di maggiori dimensioni e capacità, come in passato era stato ipotizzato .....

No Son of X-37

The Air Force is not planning a larger follow-on to the shadowy X-37B reusable junior space shuttle or an increase in the number of X-37s beyond the two that it has, said Gen. William Shelton, Air Force Space Command boss, Thursday.




That's because of funding limits and because the service is satisfied with the vehicle as-is, he told reporters in Washington, D.C.
Shelton said the service's second X-37 is "doing very well on orbit."
It's been in space already more than one year.
While Shelton couldn't give a date when it will complete its tasks and return to Earth, he said "it's had a very successful mission and we're very happy with its performance."
Asked about plans to pursue the technology, Shelton said "there is no plan to do anything larger. We can sustain this capability for quite some time."
He added that "there's no plan—certainly that we can afford—to increase the fleet size."
About the only thing Shelton would say of the classified spaceplane's activities is that it's not scooping up space debris.
"I think it's safe to say . . . it's not a vacuum cleaner," he joked.
—John A. Tirpak

Fonte ..... Daily Report (U.S. Air Force Association) - Friday March 23, 2012

Alcuni links .....

http://www.airforce-magazine.com/DRArch ... Orbit.aspx

http://www.af.mil/information/factsheet ... p?id=16639

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-37

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/ ... spx?ID=721

http://defensetech.org/2012/03/22/just- ... are-there/

[giragyro]

chissà cosa stanno combinando lassù....

[richelieu]

Il ritorno, dopo 469 giorni passati in orbita nell'adempimento di una missione segreta, del veicolo spaziale non pilotato X-37B .....

http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=2293

http://theaviationist.com/2012/06/16/ai ... the-globe/

Il Colonnello Nina M. Armagno, prima donna a ricoprire il prestigioso incarico di comandante del 30th Space Wing dell' USAF presso la Vandenberg AFB ha dichiarato .....

"Team Vandenberg has put in over a year's worth of hard work in preparation for this landing and today we were able to see the fruits of our labor," said Col. Nina Armagno, 30th Space Wing commander at Vandenberg.
"I am so proud of our team for coming together to execute this landing operation safely and successfully.

http://www.vandenberg.af.mil/library/bi ... p?id=15346

Col. Nina Armagno (al centro), 30th Space Wing commander, Chief Master Sgt. Suzanne Talbert, 30th Space Wing command chief, and 1st Lt. Kimberly Nocera .....

[richelieu]

A più di 24 ore dalla conclusione della lunga missione si attendono ancora informazioni più precise circa i suoi scopi ..... nonchè le prime immagini del veicolo spaziale .....

Details of the mission remain secret, just as they were with the first OTV flight.
Photos of the vehicle are expected to be released soon, however, presumably indicating the X-37B landed in reasonable condition .....

Fonte ..... http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.aspx? ... 732b4d7393

[sochmer]

il mini shuttle....

[richelieu]

L'atterraggio .....




I comunicati ufficiali .....

http://www.vandenberg.af.mil/news/story ... =123306242

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123306243

[Hartmann]

Ripeto la domanda fatta di là, ma si può realmente tenere segreto un lancio?

[MatteF88]

Il lancio si sapeva (tra qualche mese rispediscono in orbita il primo esemplare), gli scopi sono segretissimi..vuoi che la missione si sia protratta cosí a lungo soltanto per vedere quanto riusciva a resistere? mi sembra troppo banale

[Hartmann]

Se tu fossi il dipartimento della difesa cosa vorresti tener segreto di una missione spaziale?

[MatteF88]

Potrei non volerti dire che nella stiva ho piazzato fotocamere e altri apparecchi da ricognizione e voglio spiare qualcuno con un mezzo nuovo...peró non so magari volevano testare altre cose..tutte ipotesi..

[Hartmann]

Ma i satelliti spia sono tecnologia vecchia. Posso non volerlo dire ma non penso sia necessario mantenere un super segreto. Anche se ho dei nuovi sensori, di nuova concezione,cosa possono vedere o sentire oltre quello che già vedevano e sentivano i vecchi?

[MatteF88]

E se avessero voluto vedere da vicino altri satelliti? Magari quelli cinesi...

[Hartmann]

volevano dare una sbirciata a Liu Yang mentre si cambiava?! GUARDONI!!!!!

[MatteF88]

Facile

[Hartmann]

E si, certe cose meglio mantenerle segrete allora

[richelieu]

E se avessero voluto vedere da vicino altri satelliti? Magari quelli cinesi ...

Non so se i Cinesi possiedano mezzi di controllo dello spazio a livello di quelli americani o russi ..... ma, pensate che, se si fossero resi conto che un veicolo spaziale di un'altra potenza si era avvicinato troppo ad uno dei loro (e qui entrano in ballo le eventuali capacità di manovra dello X-37B), sarebbero stati zitti e non si sarebbero messi a strillare come aquile ?
Per me c'è dell'altro ..... ma, in tutta franchezza, non saprei proprio dire di cosa possa trattarsi .....

[Hartmann]

E' ovvio che non lo sa nessuno però.....si può esercitare la fantasia

[richelieu]

E' ovvio che non lo sa nessuno però.....si può esercitare la fantasia .....

..... che, come è noto, possiede ali molto grandi .....

[MatteF88]

beh lavorando di fantasia...un veicolo del genere, con la stiva caricata di ordigni, parcheggiato comodamente in orbita per parecchi mesi, potrebbe rappresentare una soluzione rapida per colpire target in qualsiasi punto del pianeta in qualsiasi momento senza scomodare bombardieri, missili iperveloci etc...

[Hartmann]

Per volare a quelle quote non ci restano che quelle di ali

[richelieu]

..... un veicolo del genere, con la stiva caricata di ordigni, parcheggiato comodamente in orbita per parecchi mesi, potrebbe rappresentare una soluzione rapida per colpire target in qualsiasi punto del pianeta in qualsiasi momento senza scomodare bombardieri, missili iperveloci etc .....

Non so ..... si tratta di un veicolo alquanto piccolo (lungo intorno ai 9 metri e del peso di circa quattro tonnellate e mezza) ..... la sua stiva non dovrebbe avere grandi capacità sia volumetriche che di carico ..... e poi, qualora gli Stati Uniti volessero colpire duramente e con urgenza qualcosa o qualcuno, avrebbero una larga disponibilità di ICBM (a terra) e SLBM (in mare) in grado di raggiungere qualsiasi parte del globo in meno di un'ora .....

Ribadisco ..... per me c'è dell'altro ..... perchè, ad esempio, non un'arma ad energia ?

Ma questa è soltanto un'ipotesi ..... e, come tale, vale quel che vale .....

[MatteF88]

Giusto non ho considerato le dimensioni...la stiva sarà sui 4-5 metri e dentro c'è già un pannello solare...

[richelieu]

Dal "Daily Report" dell' AFA du questa mattina .....

In preparazione la terza missione della navetta misteriosa .....

Air Force Prepares for Third X-37B Mission .....:

The Air Force has begun launch preparations at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., for the next orbital mission of an X-37B reusable spaceplane, service spokeswoman Maj. Tracy Bunko told the Daily Report on Sept. 26.

"We are on track to launch" next month, stated Bunko.

"However, the exact date remains subject to change" based on factors like range conditions and weather, she added.

This will be the third mission overall for the two-ship X-37 fleet and the second space trip for the first X-37 vehicle, which returned to Earth in December 2010 after spending 224 days on orbit during its maiden voyage.

http://www.airforce-magazine.com/DRArch ... sment.aspx

The second X-37 spaceplane completed its inaugural orbital voyage on June 16 after 469 days in space.

http://www.airforce-magazine.com/DRArch ... Earth.aspx




Bunko said the upcoming mission's focus "remains on testing vehicle capabilities and proving the utility and cost effectiveness of a reusable spacecraft."

Both previous X-37 missions concluded with landings at Vandenberg AFB, Calif.

But Bunko noted that the Air Force is "investigating the possibility of using the former [space] shuttle infrastructure" for X-37 landing operations.

This means potentially utilizing the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for landings, reports Wired Magazine's Danger Room blog.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/09/space-plane-2/

[richelieu]

The US Air Force confirms that they will once again launch its mysterious X-37B spy plane back into the sky, but what it will do there remains a mystery.
.....

Details on the operation, as usual, remain scarce, as the Air Force remains insistent on keeping information about the aircraft under wraps.
.....

The Air Force launched the initial X-37B under the mission name OTV-1 in April 2010 but has refrained from disclosing almost any information at all from the general public.
The secrecy has in turn created concern from citizens of the United States and abroad who fear it might be engaging in surveillance missions.
.....

Fonte ..... http://rt.com/usa/news/air-force-mission-x-37b-053/

Questa singolare insistenza circa le caratteristiche di segretezza delle missioni dello "X-37B" suona alquanto strana ..... se si considera che proviene da una fonte russa ..... Russia Today .....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia_Today .....


Ovvero ..... la classica situazione nella quale il bue dà del cornuto all' asino .....

[MatteF88]

Il prossimo lancio é "congelato", nel senso che l'USAF sta indagando sul fatto che durante un lancio di un Delta IV per mettere in orbita un GPS, lo stadio RL-10 non ha fornito la spinta prevista e sul razzo Atlas V che dovrà portare in orbita l'X-37 é installato proprio l'RL-10..

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... ly-377623/

[richelieu]

Il prossimo lancio é "congelato" .....

Dunque ..... non ci resta che attendere .....

The probe could also affect launches involving ULA’s Atlas 5 rockets, which use a similar RL10 second-stage engine.
An Atlas 5 is scheduled to launch around Oct. 25 with the military’s X-37B spacecraft, a robotic miniature space shuttle that has made two prior flights.

Fonte ..... http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 506328.xml

..... nella speranza che, entro tale data, siano riusciti a raccogliere dati a sufficienza onde risolvere il problema ..... tanto più che si tratta della versione di un motore ormai in servizio da cinquant'anni e, come tale, ben conosciuto .....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RL10

.... motore che Pratt & Whitney definisce, non senza orgoglio, "The most reliable, safest, and highest-performing upper-stage engine in the world" .....

http://www.pw.utc.com/products/pwr/prop ... s/rl10.asp

[sochmer]

sono due versioni però

la RL-10B-2 per l'upper stage del Delta IV con scarico estendibile e l'RL-10A-4-2 per l'upper stage Centaur dell'AtlasV

http://www.spaceandtech.com/spacedata/e ... pecs.shtml

[richelieu]

Terza missione dello X-37B ..... ancora tutto fermo .....

..... dal "Daily Report" dell' AFA di questa mattina .....

X-37B Launch Delayed .....

The Air Force and United Launch Alliance have delayed the scheduled space launch of an Atlas V rocket carrying an X-37B reusable spaceplane from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., until Nov. 13, according to a posting at the company's website.

This mission, designated OTV-3, will be the second space jaunt for the Air Force's first X-37 orbital test vehicle.

The launch delay will give engineers more time to analyze the data from the anomaly of a Delta IV RL-10B-2 upper-stage engine during a GPS IIF satellite launch on Oct. 4, according to ULA, which supplies both the Atlas and Delta rockets.

http://www.airforce-magazine.com/DRArch ... omaly.aspx

"Although the Atlas V that will launch OTV-3 utilizes a different model of the RL-10 engine, ULA leadership and the OTV customer have decided to postpone the currently scheduled launch to allow an additional two weeks for the flight data anomaly investigation to progress to a point that will enable a thorough crossover assessment for the OTV launch to be completed," said ULA officials.

Air Force spokeswoman Maj. Tracy Bunko told the Daily Report on Oct. 24 that "there is no problem" with the X-37 vehicle.

Amy McCullough

Dal sito dell' ULA ..... http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/Launch.shtml#/33/

.

[richelieu]

Ulteriore rinvio ..... forse al 27 Novembre .....

..... dal "Daily Report" dell' AFA di questa mattina .....

X-37B Launch Delayed, Again .....

The Air Force and United Launch Alliance have postponed the next X-37B mission by an additional several weeks, now eyeing Nov. 27 as the day that an Atlas V rocket will carry the experimental spaceplane into orbit.

The Air Force had planned to conduct the launch in October.

However, an upper-stage engine anomaly during the launch of a GPS IIF satellite in early October caused service and industry officials to put off the X-37 mission, designated OTV-3, until mid November until the anomaly investigation was complete.

http://www.airforce-magazine.com/DRArch ... layed.aspx

Now, they are saying more time is needed.

"Although the team . . . has been making good progress reviewing and analyzing the data, ULA leadership and the Air Force have decided to postpone the launch two weeks to allow for additional flight-data anomaly-investigation activities and thorough crossover assessment for the X-37B OTV launch vehicle to be completed," states a release posted at ULA's website on Nov. 2.

http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/Launch.shtml#/33/

OTV-3 will mark the third time that an X-37 orbital test vehicle spends time in space.

Air Force officials have said there are no issues with the X-37 vehicle holding up the launch.

[richelieu]

Un' indagine problematica .....

USAF Still Looking For Cause Of RL10 Low-Thrust Problem .....

By: Amy Butler (November 08, 2012)
Source: Aerospace Daily & Defense Report (AW&ST)

The U.S. Air Force is not close to finding a root cause of a recent low-thrust problem in an RL10 upper stage engine made by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, and the service may further delay launch of its Orbital Test Vehicle-3 mission as well as NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System K spacecraft, says Air Force Space Command chief Gen. William Shelton.

“I don’t think we are close on the investigation,” he told a small audience during a breakfast here hosted by the Air Force Association. He said the fact that the Boeing GPS IIF-3 satellite made it to orbit was the result of a “bit of a diving save,” owing to a large fuel reserve on the upper stage. “We are hopeful of a smoking gun,” he says, noting work is continuing to narrow down possible causes.

Last week, Shelton delayed the OTV-3 mission, which will orbit the X-37B reusable spaceplane prototype, two weeks to Nov. 27. The second delay of that launch, the slip will allow for more investigation time into the RL10 problem. Today, he indicated a further delay is possible and acknowledged that it will have a domino effect on the manifest of launch provider United Launch Alliance (ULA), owing to a limited number of launch crews and pads.

The RL10 incident occurred during the Oct. 8 launch of a ULA Delta IV (4,2), which uses the RL10B-2 upper stage. Some officials have suggested it was luck that got the satellite into its proper orbit after ULA officials detected what they call an “unexpected data signature” that pointed to underperforming thrust on the upper stage.

OTV-3 and TDRSS are slated for launch on the Atlas V, which also uses the RL10. This booster uses the RL10A version of the upper stage, but it shares common components. The RL10 is a single-point-of-failure for the Atlas V and Delta IV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles, underscoring the need to ensure a similar problem cannot happen in the future. “We have to find out what happened and why, because there is no plan B,” Shelton says. “The cost of a launch failure would be staggering,” both in the loss of an expensive satellite and in terms of operational impact because forces have become so dependent on spaceborne services for their work.

The recent RL-10 problem tarnishes ULA’s flawless launch record at a time when the monopoly is fighting to keep its position in the market against such upstarts as SpaceX, which has performed two docking missions to the International Space Station this year. The company is clearly after ULA’s Air Force business, and has submitted a plan to the Air Force to certify its Falcon family for use in government missions.

Shelton says that whether a mission uses a ULA vehicle or a new entrant design, he is unwilling to reduce funding for mission assurance. Because a satellite loss could be so devastating operationally, “maintaining rigor is actually an affordability play for us,” he says. The cost of mission assurance activities is about 3-5% of the total launch price, he adds.

[richelieu]

Non vi è alcun "Piano B" .....

No Plan B .....

There're no answers yet why an RL-10 rocket motor malfunctioned during October's GPS IIF satellite launch, said Air Force Space Command boss Gen. William Shelton.

Fonte ..... http://www.airforce-magazine.com/Featur ... elton.aspx

.

[richelieu]

Via libera alla terza missione .....
..... lancio previsto per l' 11 Dicembre .....

Dal "Daily Report" dell' AFA di questa mattina .....

Spaceplane Mission Gets Green Light .....

United Launch Alliance has cleared the next launch of an Air Force X-37B reusable spaceplane to occur this week at Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla., after concluding that it has sufficiently mitigated the chances of a booster anomaly repeating itself from a previous satellite launch.

A ULA Atlas V rocket is now scheduled to carry the X-37 orbital test vehicle into space on Dec 11, states the company's Dec. 7 release.

http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/News.shtml#/126

This mission, dubbed OTV-3, will be the third space flight of the two-vehicle X-37 fleet.

Back in early October, a ULA Delta IV rocket experienced an upper-stage engine malfunction during a GPS IIF satellite launch.

http://www.airforce-magazine.com/DRArch ... omaly.aspx

The Atlas V utilizes a different version of this same engine, but the Air Force and ULA delayed the X-37 launch until they understood better what happened.

http://www.airforce-magazine.com/DRArch ... Again.aspx

ULA's investigation of the Delta IV anomaly "concluded that a fuel leak occurred" and that the leak "started during the first engine start sequence," states the release.

While the anomaly investigation continues, "all credible crossover implications" for the Atlas V "have been thoroughly addressed and mitigated," clearing the way for the OTV-3 launch, states the release.


"Here, one of the Air Force's two X-37 vehicles shown after landing at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., on June 16, 2012, after spending 469 days on orbit conducting experiments."
Boeing photo by Paul Pinner

Scopo e durata della missione restano avvolti nel mistero .....

[richelieu]

Lanciato !

USAF launches X-37B into orbit .....

By: Dave Majumdar (Washington DC - December 11)
Source: Flight International

The US Air Force launched a Boeing X-37B space plane on 11 December from the Kennedy space center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The unmanned vehicle was carried into orbit onboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at around 13:00 Eastern Time.

This particular X-37B, one of two examples built, is on its second flight according to manufacturer Boeing. "The second mission for OTV-1 [Orbital Test Vehicle-1] demonstrates the vehicle is capable of multiple missions and affordable access to space," says Paul Rusnock, vice president of Boeing government space systems.

The USAF has flown the X-37B twice before for extended periods of time, but the service has not revealed the nature of the spacecraft's missions. One of the previous missions lasted for some 469 days.

[richelieu]

Il filmato del lancio .....




I comunicati .....

USAF ..... http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123329533

Boeing ..... http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=2523

United Launch Alliance ..... http://www.ulalaunch.com/site/pages/News.shtml#/127/

.

[MatteF88]

Ma la fiammata dell'Atlas si espande così tanto per via della diminuzione di pressione con la quota? Appena partito ha una lingua di fuoco bella dritta e lunga....poi circa quando passa mach 1 si vede la fiamma che si espande sempre di più in larghezza....o sono dei razzi ausiliari per il controllo della direzione che fanno quell'effetto?