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Air Force to Launch Robotic Space Shuttle, No One's Really Sure Why

by Amar Toor on April 5, 2010 at 09:28 AM

A few weeks ago, we told you about the Air Force's mysterious plans to launch the robotic, unmanned X37B shuttle into orbit. Now, less than a month later, the launch is going forward as planned, but the Force is still being strangely silent on details. After nearly a decade of arduous and expensive development, the X37B is slated to take off from Cape Canaveral on April 19, but, as FOXNews reports, no one's really sure what the spacecraft will be doing up there, or even how much it's cost thus far.

The Air Force has issued a statement on the X37B's general objectives, which include "testing of guidance, navigation, control, thermal protection and autonomous operation in orbit, re-entry and landing." Officials, however, haven't yet stated how long the mission is expected to last, only saying that the robo-shuttle is designed to stay in orbit for a maximum of 270 days. Although it was originally developed under the auspices of NASA in 1999, the X37B was eventually transfered to the Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office, which was officially instituted to develop combat support and weapons systems.

According to Globalsecurity.org defense analyst John Pike, we shouldn't feel ashamed if we don't understand anything about the X37B. "I looked into this a couple of years ago -- the entire sort of hypersonic, suborbital, scramjet nest of programs -- of which there are upwards of a dozen," Pike says. "The more I studied it the less I understood it." Peter Wilson, a senior defense analyst at RAND Corp. says that after a decade of development, it's become "a little puzzling as to whether this is the beginning of a program or the end of one."

Typically, a prototype aerospace craft like the X37B is followed up by a second vehicle. So far, there hasn't been any indication that a follow-up to the X37B is in the works, which is why WIlson considers the April 19 launch a "one-shot deal." This raises the question, then, of why the Air Force would even launch it. Judging from the Force's reluctance to disclose exact figures on the costs of the shuttle, we're guessing that simple financial obligation might have a lot to do with it, and we don't really blame them. After so many years and so much money, it makes sense to at least launch the darn thing -- even if nothing comes afterward. [From: FOXNews]

Tags: air force, AirForce, defense, robotics, shuttle, space, top, x37b

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