second US 'secret space warplane' x-37b to launch tomorrow

secret space plane heading back into orbit...
from the register: The US Air Force is set to launch its second X-37B miniature unmanned spaceplane - the type famously dubbed a "secret space warplane" by the Iranian government - on Friday. The USAF Rapid Capabilities Office, which oversees the X-37B programme, says that the second Orbital Test Vehicle mission (OTV-2) will lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop an Atlas V rocket, just as the preceding OTV-1 mission did, and will deploy the second of two X-37B spaceplanes currently owned by the airforce. The launch window will open at 3:39pm EST.

Once in orbit the X-37B deploys a solar panel array, unlike its bigger cousin the Space Shuttle which uses fuel cells for electrical power. Thus the little robot spaceplane can remain in orbit for much longer periods unsupported before re-entering the atmosphere to make a runway landing. The previous OTV-1 mission, carrying a payload which remains secret, lasted 224 days and ended with a successful landing at the Vandenberg military space base in California. As yet the USAF has not revealed the planned duration of the OTV-2 mission launching tomorrow, and again details of the payload are not being revealed.

flashback: air force space plane -
military launching robotic space vehicle

x-37b initial mission near end?

The Air Force's X-37B space plane may be near end of initial mission, reports CS Monitor article.  The spacecraft, also known as Orbital Test Vehicle 1, launched April 22nd and built for 270 day flights, suggests it may be on homestretch.  The mission of the secretive X-37B is still a subject of much speculation.  Ted Molczan, a veteran skywatcher, observes  "ground tracks that nearly repeat after two, three or four days have long been a feature of U.S. imaging reconnaissance satellites, which leads me to suspect that X-37B is carrying experimental sensors for that purpose". The spacecraft may be testing experimental sensors before they are placed on expensive satellites?  X-37B will land at Vandenberg AFB if the mission is completed as planned.

launch of x-37b revisited

David Axe writes in "US Starting Asia Space Race?" April 22nd launch of X-37B robotic spacecraft into orbit by US Air Force counters China's anti-satellite capability and goes a step further. "The X-37B, built by Boeing, could also be used to spy on and even disable other nations’ satellites, all without them necessarily knowing that it’s even happening."

Eric Sterner, a Washington-based analyst, says, "the smoke probably exceeds the fire." Sterner believes most likely the spacecraft will be used to put satellites into orbit more cheaply. Russia, China and India find the inspection capabilities of the X-37B most worrisome. The US defied a consensus among the other countries by launching the 30 foot long craft. Further, the US is the only nation with the ability to comprehensively track foreign spacecraft, which clearly gives the US a tactical advantage.

The Air Force's intentions aside, the X-37B with its satellite inspection capability represents an escalation of the space race with China. Finally, since the launch, the X-37B changes orbits frequently and evades tracking by amateur spotters, which only adds to the speculation about its celestial activities!