14 DAY TRIAL // Nearly all space agencies and major countries are currently engaged in space plane programs. This simple statement of fact should be enough to reveal the massive interest that these assets generate in military organizations around the world. Though all nations undertaking such endeavors say they are using space planes for peaceful purposes, some commentators fear their military applications.
Unlike a conventional spacecraft, which is launched aboard a rocket and becomes operational in space, a space plane can act as an aircraft when in Earth's atmosphere and as a spacecraft when in orbit. The clearest example of such a vehicle is the space shuttle, one of the most complex feats of engineering in the world. But not all space planes are manned, or even as big as the orbiters were.
Countries currently conducting space plane research include the United Kingdom, the United States, the Russian Federation, China, India, Germany, Japan, as well as the entire European Space Agency (ESA). With crafts such as the Boeing X-37B, the US is leading the way in this field, though projects such as Britain's Skylon and ESA's IXV are trying to catch up.
Most of the debates and worries associated with robotic space plane usage stem from the X-37B, so I will spend some time covering its capabilities. This vehicle is much smaller than a shuttle and fully automated. It launches into orbit in the payload fairing of an Atlas V delivery system and can spend more than a year in space, conducting classified missions.
The majority of specifications are kept under wraps by the US Air Force, as is its mission. China has been very adamant ever since the first X-37B launched, back in April 2010, that the United States has the capabilities to use this asset as a weapons platform in space, thus breaching international treaties on the peaceful use of space.
I think these concerns are not without merit. This space plane has already demonstrated an impressive number of new technologies, including an advanced thermal protection system, enhanced avionics, an autonomous guidance system, and an advanced airframe. Some commentators believe that space weapons are the next logical step for the US to try out on this platform.
From this perspective, the anti-satellite missile test conducted by China in 2007 makes sense. A multistage solid-fuel missile launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center delivered a kinetic kill vehicle into orbit that traveled at high speed in the opposite direction from the Fengyun-series FY-1C polar orbit satellite. The Chinese spacecraft was utterly destroyed.
If the United States is indeed developing space-based weapons platforms, then this could be a game-changer for the power balance in the international system of states. Space planes do not even have to carry conventional weaponry, such as missiles, cannons, or lasers; firing them from orbit would likely destabilize spacecraft either way.
I believe that orbital warfare – if it comes to it – will consist of softer measures, meant to cripple enemy targets without destroying them. For instance, the X-37B could have its payload bay filled with electronic warfare packages designed to incapacitate enemies by sending jamming signals to radars and satellite signal transmissions.
Another potential application could be in surveillance. Unlike conventional spy satellites, which use a polar orbit to map the Earth (and are therefore relatively easy to find), space planes can change their orbits quickly, making it more difficult for a defense system on the ground to destroy them mid-flight.
Having the ability to quickly reposition orbital surveillance assets is of critical importance in the modern battlefield, and the US has recognized this simple fact way ahead of other countries. If employed for spying, the Boeing space plane could synergize nicely with the wealth of standard surveillance satellites used by the US National Reconnaissance Office.
Such spacecraft could additionally be used to either improve friendly communications – by acting as relays over areas that are not covered by satellites at all times – or make it extremely difficult for enemies to keep in touch. The complexity of communications jamming technologies has increased dramatically over the past couple of decades, while the devices themselves have gotten smaller.
A spacecraft the size of the X-37B, for example, could hold multi-purpose warfare equipment with room to spare. The space plane is just 8.8 meters (29 feet) long, but features a cargo bay the size of what you would find on a pickup truck. Given the degree of miniaturization seen in modern-day electronics, it is easy to image the amount of equipment that could be fit in this space.
The picture that is shaping up when it comes to space planes is one where they are used as disruptors rather than front-line initiators. If they ever have to be used, their roles would most likely revolve around impairing enemy coordination through sabotaging communications, relaying information from commanders to troops on the ground in real-time, surveillance, and target acquisition and tracking.
Companies such as the Sierra Nevada Corporation and Virgin Galactic are already producing their own space planes for commercial applications, the Dream Chaser and SpaceShipTwo, respectively. These vehicles launch either on rockets or on carrier aircraft and can reach suborbital altitudes within a few minutes. If private entities are so technologically-advanced, it stands to reason that military organizations are even farther along in their efforts.
This was made obvious in 2012, when NRO decided to simply hand over two Hubble-sized spy telescopes to NASA, saying that it had no further use for them. In the world of astronomy, Hubble is an iconic observatory, responsible for many of the things we know about the Universe. The NRO simply dispensed with not one, but two nearly-identical telescopes. Let that sink in for a moment.
Another thing to let sink in is the fact that those telescopes – which can see objects more than 10 billion light-years away if pointed towards outer space – were to be used for monitoring Earth's surface from just a few hundred kilometers in orbit. If these assets are dispensable, then what type of instruments does the NRO operate to survey its targets?
Similarly, for space planes, the fact that the public knows about the X-37B is no guarantee that this is the most advanced spacecraft of its class in the United States. America has a very long tradition of keeping new capabilities under wraps for years or even decades.
What do you think? Should space planes be feared as the next high-tech weapons platforms, or do you believe that they are used to simply explore space and Earth's orbit? Let me know in the comments section below.