14 DAY TRIAL // In late April 2010, the United States Air Force (USAF) launched the prototype for a new orbital spacecraft that can fly to orbit and then perform maneuvers there for extended periods of time. The unmanned vehicle is called X-37B, and many military analysts have drawn attention to the fact that it may actually be a spy plane. Their worries are echoed by a former USAF officer, who said recently that the spacecraft might in fact be an orbit-based spy for the US military and government, Space reports.
The same officer said in his report that the X-37B was not a space weapon or a weapons platform, as some fear. “Certainly that's a possibility, but I don't see any evidence that it's being used like that. The problem is being so hush-hush about what its mission is, and not disclosing the mission on orbit and not disclosing where it is in orbit,” explained former US Air Force orbital analyst Brian Weeden. He now holds an appointment as a technical advisor for the Secure World Foundation (SWF). The new investigation could alleviate concerns that Russia and China have expressed over the classified US launch tests.
Weeden believes that the space plane will most likely be used as an orbital test platform for new and advanced technologies, to be outfitted on tomorrow's spy satellites and airplanes. He said that the craft could easily be launched in an orbit that would ensure it could keep an eye on any area of the world with relative ease. “Let's say something pops up in area X in some part of the world, and a ground commander needs some capability there: [the X-37B] could configure and launch into an orbit that's optimized to cover that,” the expert wrote in his report. He also added that the X-37B could work best in fleets, rather than as a single unit.
This is only the second machine the US have that allows for taking things to space, and then back to Earth for analysis. The only other spacecrafts capable of doing the same are the three space shuttles NASA operates, but they are scheduled for retirement at the end of this year. This is one of the main reasons why USAF has ordered a second X-37B, called the Orbital Test Vehicle 2, which it plans to launch to orbit no later than 2011.