News Main
Animals
Archaeology
Dinosaurs
Earth
History
Human Animal
Space
Tech

Military to Test NASA Space Plane

Irene Klotz, Discovery News

The military's research agency, DARPA, was interested in the project and took it over from NASA for additional work. It was then transferred to the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, which built and assessed a test vehicle.

During the December orbital test flight, sensors will collect information about the vehicle's performance and relay the data to flight controllers and engineers on the ground.

"If we achieve orbit and successfully de-orbit and land, we would consider that to be a mission success," the Air Force wrote by email.

The test craft is about one-quarter the size of the space shuttle and is not equipped to carry passengers.

"The X-37B was never intended to be a manned vehicle. A complete program redesign would be required to achieve a man-rated vehicle," the Air Force wrote.

What Lies Ahead

The ship's first flight likely will not be its last.

"The number of vehicles that will be built is unknown at this time and is dependent on the results of the first mission," the Air Force wrote. "The program has positioned itself to rapidly reconstitute or expand...in an effort to make space more routine, affordable and responsive."

The Air Force refused to release funding details, except to say that the program is heavily leveraged off investments made by NASA, DARPA and other entities.

NASA hired Boeing's Phantom Works in 1999 to build the original X-37A spaceship, which was intended to be carried into orbit by a space shuttle and released for an automated landing.

In 2006, the X-37A was dropped from beneath the wing of a jet carrier aircraft for a first atmospheric test flight. Doing the honors of hoisting the prototype space plane was Scaled Composites' White Knight, the high-altitude jet that served as a launching platform for the privately funded suborbital vehicle, SpaceShipOne.

The flight was considered successful, but after touching down at the Edwards Air Force Base in California, the vehicle ran off the runway and damaged its landing gear. After two more test flights, the Air Force decided to move ahead with a follow-up ship, the X-37B, now preparing for its December debut.

Related Links:

Irene Klotz's blog: Free Space

Discovery Space

NASA at 50

How Stuff Works: Space Shuttles