Secret U.S. space plane prepares to land

[W.G.Ewald]

Secret U.S. space plane prepares to land - UPI.com

A U.S. Air Force space plane in orbit for more than a year will come back to Earth this weekend, say officials who remained mum on the mission's purpose.

The robotic X-37B, after 15 months in space, is set to land Saturday at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, although weather and other factors could change that, officials said.

"We continue to monitor weather and technical conditions day by day to ensure conditions are safe for landing," Vandenberg spokesman Jeremy Eggers told SPACE.com. "At this time, the next available opportunity is Saturday, dependent upon weather and technical conditions. The landing window extends through June 18."

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Air Force Video Reveals Secret X-37B Space Plane's Robotic Landing | OTV-2 | Space.com

 

[mayankkrishna]

Mystery Mini Space Shuttle X-37B
The Air Force's X-37B, is an unmanned reusable spacecraft built by Boeing that has spent more than a year on a classified mission in space. It landed early Saturday, June 16, morning at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California after weather conditions kept pushing back landing attempts the last few days.

The U.S. military's unmanned X-37B robotic space shuttle lands after returning from orbit, from a secretive 15-month test flight, in California in this still image taken from infrared video shot on June 16, 2012. The miniature space plane, also known as Orbital Test Vehicle-2, or OTV-2, touched down at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, 130 miles (209 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. The X-37B due to fly this fall is the vehicle that inaugurated the program in 2010. REUTERS/30th Space Wing Public Affairs/Handout

The Boeing-built X-37B, the U.S. military's unmanned robotic space shuttle, is shown in this handout photo at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California June 16, 2012, after completing a secretive 15-month test flight. The miniature space plane, also known as Orbital Test Vehicle-2, or OTV-2, was only the second U.S. vehicle to make an autonomous runway landing from space. REUTERS/Boeing/Handout.

The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle waits in the encapsulation cell of the Evolved Expendable Launch vehicle at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Florida in this April 5, 2010 handout photo provided by the U.S. Air Force. The unmanned miniature space shuttle owned and operated by the U.S. military is due back to Earth as early as today after 15 months in orbit. What the X-37B has been doing is classified, as is the exact day and time of touchdown. Landing will be at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, with Edwards Air Force Base serving as backup. REUTERS/U.S. Air Force/Handout

Source:in.news.yahoo.com

 

[tramp]

This is really amazing.... two years on the orbit and returning safely? Sounds like pure Sci-Fi... Then again it is nowadays difficult to separate facts from fiction.

Mysterious US space plane lands on California coast - The Times of India

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, California: A top-secret space plane landed on Friday at an Air Force base on the Southern California coast.

The plane spent nearly two years circling Earth on a classified mission. Known as the X-37B, it resembles a mini space shuttle.

It safely touched down at 9:24am on Friday, officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base said.

Just what the plane was doing during its 674 days in orbit has been the subject of sometimes spectacular speculation.

Several experts have theorized it carried a payload of spy gear in its cargo bay. Other theories sound straight out of a James Bond film, including that the spacecraft would be able to capture the satellites of other nations or shadow China's space lab.

In a written release announcing the return of the craft, the Air Force only said it had been conducting "on-orbit experiments."

The X-37B program has been an orphan of sorts, bouncing since its inception in 1999 between several federal agencies, NASA among them. It now resides under the Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office.

 

[Razor]

Mystery Mini Space Shuttle X-37B

The U.S. military's unmanned X-37B robotic space shuttle lands after returning from orbit, from a secretive 15-month test flight, in California in this still image taken from infrared video shot on June 16, 2012. The miniature space plane, also known as Orbital Test Vehicle-2, or OTV-2, touched down at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, 130 miles (209 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. The X-37B due to fly this fall is the vehicle that inaugurated the program in 2010. REUTERS/30th Space Wing Public Affairs/Handout

Shouldn't this thing be super hot, why does it look so cool on the Infrared ?

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Shouldn't this thing be super hot, why does it look so cool on the Infrared ?

Wheels down on the runway and we don't know how long sitting there. Nose is still a hotspot.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

X-37B Space Plane Returns: 5 Theories About Its Secret Mission

 

[Razor]

Wheels down on the runway and we don't know how long sitting there. Nose is still a hotspot.

Yeah but the caption says: "X-37B robotic space shuttle lands"...."in this still image taken from infrared video".
So I figured it is landing in the picture.
Maybe the caption is wrong, or maybe at such high temps Newton's Law of cooling lowers the temp really quickly. But still