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Thread: US Air Force's Secretive Space Plane.....

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    US Air Force's Secretive Space Plane.....


    The United States Air Force's secretive X-37B space plane has been circling Earth for more than 10 months, and there's no telling when it might come down.

    As of Friday (Jan. 20), the mysterious robotic X-37B spacecraft has been aloft for 321 days, significantly outlasting its stated mission design lifetime of 270 days. But it may stay up for even longer yet, experts say, particularly if the military views this space mission — the second ever for the hush-hush vehicle — as something of an endurance test.

    The X-37B looks a lot like NASA's now-retired space shuttle, only much smaller. The unmanned vehicle is about 29 feet long by 15 feet wide (8.8 by 4.5 meters), with a payload bay the size of a pickup truck bed. For comparison, two entire X-37Bs could fit inside the payload bay of a space shuttle.

    Just what the X-37B does for so long while circling our planet remains a mystery, because the space plane's payloads and missions are classified.
    Partly as a result of the secrecy, some concern has been raised — particularly by Russia and China — that the X-37B might be a space weapon of some sort. But the Air Force has repeatedly denied that charge, claiming that the vehicle's chief task is testing out new technologies for future satellite.

    The Air Force doesn’t disclose the X-37B's orbital parameters, but amateur observers have tracked the movements of both OTV-1 and OTV-2. They've found that OTV-2 is not looping around Earth in a polar orbit, which enables a good look at every spot on the globe.

    Rather, the spacecraft is flying repeatedly over the stretch of Earth from 43 degrees north latitude to 43 degrees south latitude. Weeden thinks the space plane may be observing the Middle East and Afghanistan with some brand-new spy gear, perhaps instruments optimized to observe in wavelengths beyond the visible-light spectrum.....snip~

    http://news.yahoo.com/mystery-surrou...132202984.html

    Been up there for the last ten months circling the planet. We deny it is a weapon. But all that is doen with it is classified. Also this craft allegedly sighted whatever it was that dropped down into our atmosphere looking like stromfront. Again we are not being told what is or was up with this issue. Course it is not a secret that we have it. Just what it is doing.
    History does not long Entrust the care of Freedom, to the Weak or Timid!!!!! Dwight D. Eisenhower ~

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    History does not long Entrust the care of Freedom, to the Weak or Timid!!!!! Dwight D. Eisenhower ~

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    History does not long Entrust the care of Freedom, to the Weak or Timid!!!!! Dwight D. Eisenhower ~

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    History does not long Entrust the care of Freedom, to the Weak or Timid!!!!! Dwight D. Eisenhower ~

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    Two of these can fit in a Reg Space Shuttle. Also the US Air Force just got doen sending up a newer satellite with respects to better tech.....and our listening devices.
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    I guess what it is doing up there would depend on which hemisphere it is spying on.. can you say the United States? it would not be too much of s stretch to think this could be part of homland security and the Patriot act.. now I am no paranoid as some would have you believe .. but the feds have done nothing in the last 12 years but become more and more agressive in their dealings with the American civilliberties and freedoms..

    time will tell but .. as the old expression goes.. keep your friends close and your enemies closer
    The eastern world, it is exploding, violence flaring bullets loading. you are old enough to kill , but not for voting, this whole crazy world is just to frustrating, and you tell me over and over and over again my friend, you don't believe we are on the EVE of DESTRUCTION.


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    You know you're right.....there would be no reason not to believe they wouldn't.
    Last edited by MMC; 04-13-2012 at 02:46 PM.
    History does not long Entrust the care of Freedom, to the Weak or Timid!!!!! Dwight D. Eisenhower ~

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    i think it is iran

    they have enough cameras and bug our phones, the patriot act et cetera so they can spy on things here without needing to do it from outer space

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    To tell you the truth there are satellites up all over the place. While I am sure they might be using this for flights over Iran and the ME. I am sure when something pops up here they have satellites move right in and pick up the scoop.
    History does not long Entrust the care of Freedom, to the Weak or Timid!!!!! Dwight D. Eisenhower ~

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    I am no fan of the government spying on us. You all know that. However I am glad we at least have some projects going into space and a somewhat passable substitute for the Shuttle now that they have been grounded. I don't really understand why the Shuttles were killed or what they will do with those incredible machines (Craigslist? ) but I will always remember being awed by them both as a kid and an adult. They were always something I associated with America that no other country had and they made us all proud.

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