Top secret X-37B military spaceplane could be turned into a lifesaving 'astronaut ambulance'
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One of the most mysterious craft ever to be flown by the US military has been in orbit for 500 days - yet we still don't know what it's doing.
The X-37B space plane, an experimental program run by the Air Force, launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on May 20, 2015.
Now, it is claimed the craft could one day be used to ferry sick astronauts back to Earth.
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Experts say the alternatives - Soyuz capsules and even SpaceX and Boeing's capsules, would simply be too challenging for sick spacemen.
Experts say the alternatives - Soyuz capsules and even SpaceX and Boeing's capsules, would simply be too challenging for sick spacemen.
'If somebody needs to come home soon from space, coming back on the Soyuz is going to be a pretty challenging ride — at least 4.5 Gs, fairly violent landing, and then you might not be very close to the medical care you need out in Kazakhstan,' former astronaut Stephen Robinson, who flew on four shuttle missions and currently chairs the mechanical and aerospace engineering department at the University of California, said last month during a presentation with NASA's Future In-Space Operations (FISO) working group, according to Space.com.
He worked with Etan Halberg, one of Robinson's graduate students at UC-Davis, on finding out if the military space plane was a better option.
The pair say a new variant of it would be needed with a pilot as a backup for the autonomous system that currently operates the space plane, Halberg said.
The X-37B's payload bay would also be enlarged, from 88 cubic feet (2.5 cubic meters) to 147 feet (4.2 cubic m), to accommodate the pilot and two other people — the patient and a 'crew medical officer.'
Robinson said he envisions the X-37B launching in an uncrewed state toward the ISS, perhaps loaded up with cargo.
The vehicle would then stay at the orbiting lab for long stretches, ready to take sick or wounded astronauts down if needed.
Theories have ranged from it being a space bomber, to a clandestine probe on a mission to 'take out' spy satellites.
For its latest launch, United Launch Alliance's 206ft Atlas V rocket launched the space plane from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral last May.
The mystery vehicle, essentially a technology test bed, is designed to orbit the Earth and then land like one of Nasa's old shuttles.
According to X-37B manufacturer Boeing, the space plane operates in low-earth orbit, between 110 (177km) and 500 miles (800km) above earth.
By comparison, the International Space Station orbits at about 220 miles (350km).
While its main mission payload is a mystery, Nasa has revealed it has a materials experiment aboard, while the Planetary Society is tagging along with a solar-sail demo.
Called LightSail, it uses a propulsion system that uses the pressure of photons from the sun, a technique known as solar sailing.
One of the most mysterious craft ever to be flown by the US military has been in orbit for 500 days. The X-37B space plane, an experimental program run by the Air Force, launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on May 20, 2015. Pictured is an artist's impression
Nine other CubeSat nanosatellites are also taking a piggyback ride into orbit.
The space plane - one of two of the same design - is operated robotically, without anyone on board, and is reusable.
It is 29ft (8.8m) long — about one-fourth the size of a Nasa shuttle. The longest X-37B flight lasted about 675 days; touchdown was last October.
There is no official word on exactly how long this one will stay up, although report suggest it will return to Earth later this year.
Like a shuttle, X-37B is blasted into orbit by a rocket. However, it lands using a runway like a normal aircraft. The X-37B is too small to carry people onboard, but does have a cargo bay similar to that of a pickup truck, which is just large enough to carry a small satellite
When the plane does return, it will land in Nasa's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.
A former KSC space-shuttle facility will enable the Air Force 'to efficiently land, recover, refurbish and relaunch the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV),' Boeing representatives told Space.com.
In an unprecedented disclosure, last year the Department of Defense did reveal some details about the X-37B's main mission.
'[We] are investigating an experimental propulsion system on the X-37B on Mission 4,' Captain Chris Hoyler, an Air Force spokesman, told Space.com.
'The Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office will also host a number of advance materials onboard the X-37B for Nasa to study the durability of various materials in the space environment,' Hoyler added.
Theories have ranged from it being a space bomber, to a clandestine probe on a mission to 'take out' spy satellites. Pictured is the Atlas V rocket carrying the mysterious payload moments (left) after launch last year, and just before (right)
He added the vehicle's mission 'cannot be specified' but that it will enhance 'the development of the concept of operations for reusable space vehicles'.
Spaceflightnow.com revealed more details of the flight, which is described as a 'hall thruster electric propulsion test.'
It is intended to improve performance of the units onboard Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications spacecraft, officials claim.
AEHF satellites' Hall thrusters are 4.5-kilowatt units that use electricity and xenon to produce thrust for moving satellites in space.
The benefit of using electric propulsion is that its xenon fuel weighs much less than traditional hydrazine.
This technology could help in the development of technologies to control satellites with better accuracy.
However, experts claim that refining an advanced manoeuvring thruster is probably just a small part of the vehicle's true mission set.
The US Air Force's top secret X-37B space plane was caught on camera last year by a team of amateur astronomers. South African astronomer Greg Roberts captured this of the space plane in two-second–long exposures just a few weeks after launch
An infrared view of the X-37B unmanned spacecraft landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The purpose of the U.S. military's space plane is classified
One leading secrecy expert previously told DailyMail.com the drone is 'very likely' be used to test technologies that will increase spying capabilities of the US.
'The US government has a bottomless appetite for sensitive information,' said Steven Aftergood, a secrecy expert at the Federation of American Scientists.
'As powerful as our intelligence satellites may be, they also have their limitations - most notably the limitations imposed by their orbital parameters.
'It's conceivable that a spy plane would introduce new versatility into overhead reconnaissance.'
The X-37B space drone, otherwise known as the Orbital Test Vehicle, is blasted into orbit by a rocket. However, it lands using a runway like a normal aircraft.
The X-program has bounced between several federal agencies, Nasa among them, since 1999. The plane has been in space for a total of 674 days, far more than its two previous flights which lasted 225 and 469 days
The X-37B is too small to carry people onboard, but does have a cargo bay similar to that of a pickup truck, which is just large enough to carry a small satellite.
The X-program has bounced between several federal agencies, Nasa among them, since 1999.
The program's first mission launched in April 2010 and landed in December that year.
The second space plane took off on March 2011 and came back to Earth in June 2012.
One secrecy expert has told DailyMail.com that the drone (artist's impression ) is 'likely' to be a spy plane. The program's first mission launched in April 2010 and landed in December that year
This December 3, 2010, image by the Vandenberg Air Force Base shows technicians examining the X-37B unmanned spaceplane shortly after landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
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