One of the U.S. Space Force’s (sort of) secret spacecraft, known as the X-37B, is preparing to make a major orbital change. According to Official announcement on October 10th According to information from the USSF, the Boeing experimental aircraft began a series of maneuvers known as “aerobraking” that changed its altitude by making “a series of passes that exploited the resistance of the Earth’s atmosphere.” This process also allows the X-37B to adjust its trajectory with minimal fuel consumption. In doing so, the spaceplane will also “safely dispose of service module components in accordance with accepted standards for space debris mitigation.”
This will be the reusable experimental vehicle’s seventh known mission since returning to orbit last December. as war zone It is not clear whether the X-37B has already lowered its orbit in preparation for aerobraking, as explained on Thursday, but in any case, it needs to be at a relatively low altitude to take advantage of atmospheric drag. there will be. meanwhile Aero brakes are not newthe current mission is said to mark the first-ever use of a spaceplane. Once the process is complete, the USSF says the X-37B will “resume testing and experimentation until goals are achieved” before deorbiting and returning to Earth. The USSF added that its highly classified spacecraft has previously conducted radiation effects experiments and tested “space domain awareness techniques in a highly elliptical orbit” during its seventh mission.
But if you were expecting more details than that, you’re out of luck. meanwhile Experts have previously pointed out Despite its high degree of maneuverability, observers still have questions about the spaceplane’s main payload bay, which has an area roughly the size of a truck bed, and a service module adapter that could carry more equipment into orbit. are. Space Delta 9, the USSF unit responsible for both X-37Bs, has little information about what it will do with the reusable aircraft once they are officially fielded. a press release Earlier this year, Space Delta 9 announced that it would “prepare, present and present assigned forces and attached forces for the purpose of conducting defensive and defense operations and providing national decision-making bodies with response options to thwart orbital threats.” “It is a central point for planning.” If you look closely, there are a lot of words that say almost nothing.
[Related: China’s super-secret space plane spotted above Europe.]
However, one of the X-37B’s future operations could be interception and neutralization. Russian nuclear anti-satellite weapon– Far more aggressive measures regarding space warfare than have been publicly acknowledged so far. However, this is probably not that surprising considering: First commissioned USSF artwork It depicted a very familiar spaceplane fighting enemy satellites. It’s unclear whether the X-37B will ever directly confront an adversary in orbit, but if it does, testing procedures such as aerobraking will be important to ensure it is mission capable.
