Interesting article on a “semi-black” project:

With a wingspan of 15 feet and a length of 27.5 feet, the X-37 looks like a tiny space shuttle.  It has a blunt (though windowless) nose, and one rocket engine bell instead of the shuttle’s three. Two cargo doors open just as the shuttle’s do, revealing a four- by seven-foot bay.  Like the shuttle, the X-37 was designed for low Earth orbits—in the latter’s case, altitudes of 125 to 575 miles.  And the craft will fly like a shuttle, reentering the atmosphere with the orbiter’s 40-degree nose-high attitude. After reentry, it will change to a 20-degree nose-down glide and, flying at up to 220 mph, land at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, with Edwards Air Force Base as an alternate.

Air and Space magazine article __>

Ready for a test flight:

Air Force to launch robotic winged space plane

After a decade of development, the Air Force this month plans to launch a robotic spacecraft resembling a small space shuttle to conduct technology tests in orbit and then glide home to a California runway.

The ultimate purpose of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle and details about the craft, which has been passed between several government agencies, however, remain a mystery as it is prepared for launch April 19 from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

AP article __>

Secret X-37B Space Plane Spotted by Amateur Skywatchers

While the U.S. Air Force is mum about the orbital whereabouts of its X-37B mini-space plane, a dedicated band of amateur skywatchers has got its cross-hairs on the spacecraft.

Roberts said the space plane has been observed over the last week by several members and its orbit is properly tied down. “We now face a spell of a week to two weeks when there will be no optical visibility until it becomes a morning object in the southern hemisphere and an evening object in the northern hemisphere.”

The degree of difficulty in finding the X-37B has been a product of not knowing its inclination and having limited optical visibility due to its low orbiting altitude. Amateur astronomers learn how to spot satellites by tracking spacecraft orbits and finding when they may fly over viewing areas on the ground.

Yahoo! News article __>

Track the X-37B in real time:  http://www.n2yo.com/?s=36514

X-37B US miltary spaceplane returns to Earth

A prototype spaceplane built for the US military has returned to Earth after seven months in orbit.

The unpiloted X-37B touched down at Vandenberg Air Force base in California at 0116 PST (0916 GMT).

The project has been shrouded in secrecy, prompting widespread speculation about the craft’s purpose.

The Air Force has not said whether it carried anything in its cargo bay, but insists the primary purpose of the mission was to test the craft itself.

BBC News article

Saw that today, too.

Cheaper to launch/operate/recover than a shuttle, too. Probably has multiple potential purposes/uses.

About the right size for a Keyhole Mark 20.

Space plane and its secret payload set for launch
 
An experimental robotic space plane developed for the Air Force is slated to launch Friday from Cape Canaveral, fueling an ongoing mystery about its hush-hush payload and overall mission.

Watching the pilotless spacecraft along with the Pentagon will also be wary Russian and Chinese military officials who have raised questions about U.S. intentions since the government launched its first version of the secret plane into orbit almost a year ago.

Lt. Gen. Oleg Ostapenko, the commander of Russia’s space forces, told the state-run Novosti news agency that the military was following the development of the space plane.  He said Russian scientists were developing similar technology.

And, as soon as we steal the technology, ours will look strikingly simiilar to the American version…

LA Times article __>

My younger brother who works for a NASA contractor was just hired on as a senior computer engineer for this project.

Cool.  I guess if he told us anything about the project, he’d have to kill us

Regrettably, yes.