[TT-1 Pinto]

Intanto è stato lanciato il secondo X-37B ....

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DATE: 06/03/11
SOURCE: Flight International

Second X-37B mission reaches orbit

By Stephen Trimble

The second Boeing X-37B orbital test vehicle (OTV-2) launched into space on 5 March, riding atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from space launch complex-41 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The flight is a follow-up to the 270-day mission of the OTV-1 that ended on 3 December, with the spacecraft de-orbiting and landing at Vandenberg AFB, California.

US Air Force officials have declined to answer questions about whether any payloads have intended to be tested or deployed with either OTV-1 or OTV-2.

Instead, the USAF has confirmed both spacecraft are being used to understand the flight characteristics of the X-37B. A statement released after the launch of OTV-2 adds the spacecraft will be tested for landing in higher winds after it de-orbits in several months.

"We'll also be looking at the performance of its advanced thermal protection systems and tiles, solar power systems and environmental modelling," LtCol Troy Giese, X-37B program manager, says in a statement.

The X-37B launches come under the rapid capabilities office, and are officially described as aimed at demonstrating a reusable, unmanned testbed for orbital missions.

The latest mission will enable enable the capabilities office to "further experiment with the vehicle and its ability to operate in low-Earth orbit," says Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of Boeing space and intelligence systems.

The latest mission involved launching from the Atlas 501 rocket configuration, which includes a 5.1m-diameter payload fairing. The RD AMROSS RD-180 engine served as the booster, with the Centaur upper stage bowered by the Pratt & Whitney RL-10A engine.

Il video del lancio ....

http://www.youtube.c...d&v=FCX6WvivayQ

[ROBY1]

La cronologia di tutte le missioni shuttle Mio Link, parecchie hanno carico classificato, cioè a scopo militare.
D'altronde un veicolo così potente ( e stracostoso) non poteva non essere utilizzato, senza contare che è l'unico che può fare attività EVA per la sostituzione manuale di qualche apparato difettoso.
Almeno dei satelliti geostazionari, perchè non credo sia possibile acchiappare un satellite spia con orbita eliosincrona.... che mi pare...accelleri considerevolmente qundo si avvicina alla terra....

Comunque qua Mio Link dice che l'x-37 b è militare (USAF) e sarà equipagiato con robot in grado di riparare satelliti defunti.
Che sia il Robonaut con cui ha chiaccherato Nespoli?

Curiosità: la tuta che hanno questi tizi serve per proteggerli dall'idrazina e company?

[TT-1 Pinto]

ROBY1, su 09 ottobre 2011 - 15:03, ha detto:

Curiosità: la tuta che hanno questi tizi serve per proteggerli dall'idrazina e company?

Direi di si .... se non sbaglio anche i tecnici che "accudivano" lo Space Shuttle immediatamente dopo l'atterraggio erano adeguatamente protetti ....

A proposito dell' X-37B .... è notizia recente che Boeing starebbe studiandone versioni di maggiori dimensioni e (eventualmente) in grado di trasportare equipaggio ....

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Fonte: Aerospace Daily and Defense Report (AW&ST)

Boeing Studies X-37B Evolved Crew Derivative

By Guy Norris (Oct. 7, 2011)

LOS ANGELES —

Boeing is studying scaled-up variants of the reusable X-37B orbital test vehicle (OTV) for potential delivery of cargo and crew to the International Space Station (ISS) and other low-Earth-orbit destinations.

The development plan is believed to be aimed at providing a larger cargo adjunct to the company’s CST-100 crew vehicle as well as a possible longer-term, crew-carrying successor. The plan builds on the ongoing OTV demonstration with the U.S. Air Force, the first phase of which ended when the classified, unmanned OTV-1 demonstration flight concluded in December 2010 with an autonomous landing at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., following 244 days in orbit. A second mission, OTV-2, is under way.

OTV-2 has been in space since March 5, and assuming it has not already been covertly recovered, is expected to remain in space until at least mid-October. A landing around Oct. 15 will equal the OTV-1’s mission length. Given the 270-day mission endurance limit of the X-37B, as earlier described by the Air Force, the early March launch means the landing at Vandenberg can be expected on or before Nov. 30.

The X-37B evolution study, which harks back to the pre-military NASA origins of the OTV, envisages a three-phase buildup. The first would see the current 29-ft.-long vehicle used for demonstration flights to the ISS. In its current configuration, the X-37B launched inside the 5-meter (16.5-ft.) fairing of the Atlas V could already take bulky items such as the station’s control moment gyros, battery discharge and pump module, Boeing says.

The second phase would see the development of a 165% scaled-up version, roughly 47 ft. long and large enough to transport larger line replaceable units (LRUs) to the station. The larger version would demonstrate operations to and from the ISS, paving the way for a human-carrying derivative in the third phase. This would see a human-rated version transport “five to seven astronauts,” says Art Grantz, Boeing’s X-37B project chief.

Speaking at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space 2011 conference in Long Beach, Calif., Grantz says “the next step is a larger cargo vehicle that can deliver and return large ISS LRUs while retiring the risks associated with autonomous transportation of astronauts to and from LEO.”

Although many details of the OTV-1 flight remain unknown and with OTV-2 shrouded in even more mystery than the first flight, Grantz says the initial launch was aimed at “making it operate like an airborne test platform.” From a vehicle viewpoint, however, it also demonstrated autonomous de-orbit using “shuttle-style” trajectory and aero-braking manuevers as well as a “soft landing” on a runway. The test also validated the X-37B’s autonomous guidance, navigation and control system, electro-mechanical flight control system and thermal protection. During the X-37B’s eight months in space, Air Force controllers also demonstrated deployment of the solar wing, its subsequent stowage and return for reuse.

[ROBY1]

Sembra la scena di un film di fantascienza, invece è la realtà

[-{-Legolas-}-]

Boeing ha preso la palla al balzo, dell'apertura dei privati per la corsa allo spazio suborbitale, sono privilegiati per via del canale militare sempre aperto col DoD, e con la chiusura del programma Shuttle, si apre una bella finestra per lo X-37 e tutti i possibili impieghi. Alla fine la filosofia dello Shuttle prevarrà come essere quella vincente, col vantaggio che questa nuova piattaforma sarà veramente conveniente come doveva essere sin dal principio.

[-{-Legolas-}-]

Una scheda sullo X-37b descritto sopra.

[ROBY1]

Boh non ho capito sta frase:The X-37B can only carry less than 1% of the payload the significantly larger Space Shuttles can, ruling out the military using this to do any heavy lifting in space.

Ma poi se non ha equipaggiamento "umano", a che scopo fare un veicolo riutilizzabile?

[-{-Legolas-}-]

Vuol dire che la versione B porta meno dell'1% del carico dello shuttle.

l'X-37B serve a dimostrare le capacità, ma il prossimo X-37C sarà delle dimensioni del 165-180% di questo, e con un modulo pressurizzato per il trasporto di un equipaggio.

Questo messaggio è stato modificato da -{-Legolas-}-: 11 ottobre 2011 - 13:51

[TT-1 Pinto]

Futuro derivato dello X-37B .... ulteriori e più ampi dettagli ....

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Fonte: AviationWeek.com

X-37B Vehicle Derivative Plan Revealed


By Guy Norris, Frank Morring, Jr.
Los Angeles, Cape Town, South Africa (Oct. 11, 2011)


Amid preparations for key demonstrations of commercial cargo and crew operations to low Earth orbit, Boeing has revealed studies of scaled-up, mini-space shuttle-like variants of the reusable X-37B orbital test vehicle (OTV) which could be used to return to a runway landing.

The larger derivative could be developed for potential delivery of cargo and crew to the International Space Station (ISS), with flight tests of the current version paving the way for a more ambitious stretched version, according to the manufacturer. However, NASA appears to be unconvinced by the derivative plan, describing it as a “trial balloon” aimed at gauging the agency’s interest.

The development plan is targeted at providing a larger cargo backup to Boeing’s CST-100 crew vehicle as well as a potential longer-term crew-carrying successor. The concept builds on the ongoing OTV demonstration with the U.S. Air Force, the first phase of which ended with the classified unmanned OTV-1’s December 2010 demonstration flight culminating in an autonomous landing at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., after 244 days in orbit. A second mission, OTV-2, is currently under way.

OTV-2 has been in space since March 5 and, assuming it has not already been covertly recovered, the vehicle is expected to remain in space until at least mid-October.

William Gerstenmaier, who oversees the agency’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program as NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations, says a commercial X-37 is an idea whose time probably has not come. “We’ve got two cargo providers that are making real good progress,” he says. “We’re making good progress with crew, so I don’t think I would deviate much off of those paths until we show that there’s some benefit. So I think it’s some kind of trial balloon on their part to see if were interested, because there’s limited funding throughout the government. So this is a way for them to see if there’s another market.”

In an interview with Aviation Week between sessions at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Cape Town, South Africa, last week, Gerstenmaier said the only possible scenario for a shift to X-37 to send supplies and crew to the ISS would be “in extremis” in the event that the other commercial launch alternatives do not go well. Under its CCDev agreements, the agency could only pursue an alternative if a company defaults or stops work.

The business case for these companies is really based on their having a good market share, he says. “The 20 metric-ton [capacity] was derived from what they need for a business case to deliver cargo to ISS, and if I give that business case away that erodes their ability to deliver, and that’s not a good thing,” Gerstenmaier says.

NASA already has a CCDev agreement with Boeing to build the CST-100 crew vehicle, a seven-seat aluminum capsule that will ride to space atop an Atlas V, and the company official in charge of that work says the capsule will continue to be Boeing’s entry in the commercial-crew arena as the CCDev effort advances.

“Clearly, [X-37B] is an option for cargo,” says John Ebon, vice president and general manager for space exploration at Boeing Defense, Space and Security. “There’s work that would have to be done for that to be used as crew. We internally traded when we were looking at going after commercial crew whether to do a capsule or a winged vehicle based on X-37. Based on the risk associated with development in a fixed-price environment of a winged vehicle as opposed to a simple capsule, we chose to go after a capsule.”

Ebon, who also attended the IAC, noted that X-37B evolution study team is supporting Sierra Nevada Corp. as a supplier in its effort to build a lifting-body crew vehicle. But that work is firewalled off from the CST-100 effort, and unrelated to the Boeing CCDev entry, he says. Like Gerstenmaier, Elbon sees the X-37 as a backup, particularly as a cargo carrier in case Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Orbital Sciences Corp. fail to develop their cargo vehicles. Depending on what happens with cargo providers, it could be a real near-term solution for taking cargo to station, Elbon says.

The X-37B evolution study, which harks back to the OTV’s pre-military NASA origins, envisages a three-phase build-up. The first would see the current 29-ft.-long vehicle used for demonstration flights to the ISS. As presently configured, the X-37B, launched inside the 5-meter (16.4-ft.) fairing of the Atlas V, could carry bulky items such as the station’s control moment gyro, battery discharge and pump module, Boeing says.

The second phase would see the development of a 165% scaled-up version, roughly 47 ft. long and big enough to transport larger line-replaceable units (LRU) to the station. The larger version would demonstrate operations to and from the ISS, paving the way for a human-carrying derivative in the third phase. This would see a human-rated version transport “five to seven astronauts” says Boeing X-37B project chief Art Grantz.

Speaking at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space 2011 conference in Long Beach, Calif., Grantz said, “the next step is a larger cargo vehicle that can deliver and return large ISS LRUs while retiring the risks associated with autonomous transportation of astronauts to and from LEO.”

Although many details of the OTV‑1 flight remain unknown—and with OTV-2 shrouded in even more mystery—Grantz says the initial launch was aimed at “making it operate like an airborne test platform.” From a vehicle viewpoint, however, it also successfully demonstrated autonomous de-orbit using “shuttle-style” trajectory and aero-braking maneuvers as well as a “soft landing” on a runway. The test also validated the X-37B’s autonomous guidance, navigation and control system, electro-mechanical flight control system and thermal protection.

In addition, during the X-37B’s eight months in space, Air Force controllers demonstrated deployment of the solar wing as well as its subsequent stowage and return for reuse.

[ROBY1]

Ok il fratello maggiore sarà usato per l'ISS.
stavo pensando...acchiappare un satellite nello spazio con l'X-37 per portarlo a fare un tagliando sull terra (benza, olio, marmitta e filtro)... sarebbe conveniente?
potrebbe essere un tipo di missione?

E se fregano un satellite ai cinesi???

Questo messaggio è stato modificato da ROBY1: 12 ottobre 2011 - 21:39

[ROBY1]

The first time the military flirted with the idea of a reusable spaceship was the Dyna-Soar project of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Dyna-Soar, also named the X-20, was envisioned as a piloted spacecraft for anti-satellite, reconnaissance and even space weapons applications.
After Dyna-Soar's cancellation in 1963, the Air Force turned its attention to an ill-fated manned space station called the Manned Orbiting Laboratory. It was cancelled in 1969.
The military contributed to the earliest conceptual designs of the space shuttle beginning in 1971. The Air Force selected Vandenberg to host shuttle launches on polar orbit missions with classified national security payloads.
But the Pentagon scrubbed plans to launch the shuttle from Vandenberg after the Challenger accident. The military's last dedicated shuttle mission launched from Florida in 1992.
"There are a number of differences between our shuttle experience and this bird," Payton said. "Our top priority is getting the bird to orbit and getting it back down again."
Mio Link



Sempre nella pagina Mio Link anche l'autore dice che potrebbe "può recuperare un satellite dall'orbita, riportandolo a terra con uno stress non superiore a 2G"

Non so i base a quali dati...sarebbe bello sapere se c'hanno già provato col vecchio shuttle

[ROBY1]

Mi rispondo da solo STS-57 1993.
Il satellite eureca (european retriveable carrier) viene riposto in stiva dopo un anno nello spazio (STS-46 1992, quella del Tethered.)

[TT-1 Pinto]

Sempre avvolta nel massimo segreto, la missione del secondo X-37B (OTV-2 o Orbital Test Vehicle-2) prosegue e ....

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.... the service has no intention of purchasing any more of the winged, reusable vehicles ....

Fonte .... http://www.nationald...ost.aspx?ID=721

Inoltre .... http://defensetech.o...37bs-are-there/

[-{-Legolas-}-]

Trovano tutti gli espedienti per non rivelare quali "esperimenti" abbiano a bordo dell'X-37.