The Pentagon has broken by surprise the hermeticism around to the X-37b space plane of the US space force. For the first time we have seen an image taken from the secret ship, which Fly for years No crew.
The photo. Maybe what has done irresistible Publish this image Be the captivating views of the Earth that enjoys the aircraft. The photo was taken near the highest point (the peak) of the elliptical trajectory in which A Falcon Heavy rocket from Spacex He launched the X-37B space plane.
And it is an amazingly high and elliptical orbit (185 x 35,188 kilometers, according to the Marco Langbroek researcher) which explains why they needed all the Power of a Heavy Falcon To launch it.
The context. X-37B is a small robotic ship operated by the American Air Force and Space Force that was last launched in the late 2023. It is designed to test new exploration and space defense technologies, so its missions are largely secret.
The current mission is the seventh and focuses on experimenting with “highly elliptical orbits” and “aerofrenado maneuvers” capable of repositioning the ship with a minimum amount of fuel, something that the United States considers vital in a scenario of growing spatial competition, especially by Chinawhich has its own secret space plane.
Why this photo is striking. It is not the first time that we see the earth to tens of thousands of kilometers, but so far, the mission of X-37b had taken in an almost absolute silence. This is the first time we see a snapshot captured by the vehicle itself while still in space.
Of course, the image is not recent. It was taken on January 30, 2024, according to JPEG’s metadata, a date that The most skeptics verified Comparing the pattern of clouds on planet Earth with the clouds that meteorological satellites recorded that day.
What is X-37b for. In addition to demonstrating aerobraking (taking advantage of atmospheric braking to change orbit), X-37B has performed tests with plant seeds to study the effects of radiation on plant growth and has deployed small useful loads to recover them later, which Open the door to potential satellite surveillance or repair applications.
This ability to interact with small satellites It is also suspected of the Chinese unmanned ship, Shenlong. Both China and the United States study the deployment and recovery of satellites in these prolonged missions to be able to take advantage of them in the future.
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