Space plane back from secret mission
Source: Agencies |
June 18, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AN unmanned Air Force space plane steered itself to a landing early on Saturday at a California military base, capping a 15-month clandestine mission.
The spacecraft, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in March last year, conducted in-orbit experiments during the mission, officials said. It was the second such autonomous landing at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, 209 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles.
In 2010, an identical unmanned craft returned to Earth after seven months in orbit.
The latest homecoming was set in motion when the stubby-winged robotic X-37B fired its engine to slip out of orbit, then pierced through the atmosphere and glided down the runway like an airplane.
Lieutenant Colonel Tom McIntyre, the X-37B's program manager, said: "The return capability allows the Air Force to test new technologies without the same risk commitment faced by other programs. We're proud of the entire team's successful efforts to bring this mission to an outstanding conclusion."
With the second X-37B on the ground, the Air Force planned to launch the first one again later this year.
The twin X-37B vehicles are part of a military program testing robotically controlled reusable spacecraft technologies. Though the Air Force has emphasized the goal is to test the plane itself, there's a classified payload on board - a detail that has led to speculation about the mission's ultimate purpose.
Some amateur trackers think the craft carried an experimental spy satellite sensor judging by its low orbit, suggesting reconnaissance or intelligence gathering.
The spacecraft, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in March last year, conducted in-orbit experiments during the mission, officials said. It was the second such autonomous landing at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, 209 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles.
In 2010, an identical unmanned craft returned to Earth after seven months in orbit.
The latest homecoming was set in motion when the stubby-winged robotic X-37B fired its engine to slip out of orbit, then pierced through the atmosphere and glided down the runway like an airplane.
Lieutenant Colonel Tom McIntyre, the X-37B's program manager, said: "The return capability allows the Air Force to test new technologies without the same risk commitment faced by other programs. We're proud of the entire team's successful efforts to bring this mission to an outstanding conclusion."
With the second X-37B on the ground, the Air Force planned to launch the first one again later this year.
The twin X-37B vehicles are part of a military program testing robotically controlled reusable spacecraft technologies. Though the Air Force has emphasized the goal is to test the plane itself, there's a classified payload on board - a detail that has led to speculation about the mission's ultimate purpose.
Some amateur trackers think the craft carried an experimental spy satellite sensor judging by its low orbit, suggesting reconnaissance or intelligence gathering.
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