The rocket with Russian engines placed into orbit US Secret spaceplane. Along with him went into space solar sail space and materials of the future.
With the launch site at Cape Canaveral in the next journey started many months, perhaps the most secret US spacecraft, the properties and the purpose of which concerned journalists and military experts for several years. Despite the fact that the United States turned the program use reusable manned spacecraft Space Shuttle, space shuttles flying continued. But now it’s not a huge manned orbiter crew of seven people, and carrying capacity of 20 tons,
a miniature unmanned minishattly X-37 that run on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.
On the eve of the rocket Atlas -V, equipped with two engines of the first stage of the Russian RD-180, launched the fourth space shuttle mission of the secret X-37B, which was launched with a number of other satellites.
Accessory elegant space plane to the military authorities initially created the veil of secrecy that surrounded his every run: about the next mission used to be known is that it is not known. As a rule, the military restricted concise explanation that the mission will test new space technologies. Developed by Boeing unit X-37B is a continuation of the project nasovskogo X-37A, was created to deliver it in the cargo bay of the space shuttle with the purpose of use as a mobile workshop for servicing satellites in orbit.
In 2006, the program declined and the machine has started modifying the military from the agency DARPA. The first mission under the cover of secrecy started in 2010 and lasted seven months, after which the unit successfully landed an aircraft on the runway Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. All subsequent flight ends in the same place, it is assumed that the current will be no exception. Total Boeing built two flight models of the X-37, which flew three times.
The longest flight lasted almost two years – with December 2012 by October 2014.
Each spaceplane has a length of about 9 meters and a wingspan of 4.6 meters. The cargo compartment it is the size of an SUV, with its shutters are opened, which makes it possible to produce goods in an open space.
The secrecy surrounding the unusual ships, a few years ago has spawned versions,
that the shuttles are created to fly up to satellites presumed enemy and pull them out system.
However, the military refuted this assumption, continuing to assert that the machine is only testing the technology return slopes.
This time, mission managers are not dedicated to the public the details of the mission, adding that now attention will be paid no more than the behavior of the Orbiter, and delivered them to the equipment. “Test mission continues to develop the concept of the return of ships and clarify the technical parameters of ready-to-ship.” – Said in a statement. However, this time some of the details of the mission yet become known.
One of the tasks will be the testing of experimental ion engine, which rely creators of many future spacecraft.
These engines, with little traction, have a high efficiency, allowing weak, but constantly to disperse the spacecraft without burning the usual propellants. These motors are widely used on commercial satellites. However, the military require them greater specific impulse. It is known that the company Aerojet Rocketdyne engines are produced 5 kilowatts of power for the three military satellites, a modified version of them went on board the X-37.
«He is very, very efficient in terms of fuel,” – said Fred Wilson, director of development Aerojet Rocketdyne. The NASA hope that in the future these engines can deliver cargo ships to Mars.
There is a space plane mission and scientific component. On board flying into space more than 100 samples of various materials, which should be checked in space – constant changes in temperature and radiation. “All this is just going to lie there under the influence of the environment”, – explained Finkenor Mirian, director of the experiment on the part of NASA.
Among these materials, advanced coatings for spacecraft, transparent materials for windows Orion spacecraft and space ink, whose main task is not to disappear from the surface of the outdoor elements of satellites.
In addition to the main load minishattlu rocket Atlas passing into orbit, and 10 scientific satellites to test different technologies.
The most interesting challenge will be to attempt one of the satellites in orbit to deploy a solar sail and to demonstrate the possibility of movement with the help of sunlight.
The money collected on the sail the world organization Planetary Society.
When you run the satellite does not exceed the size of a loaf of black bread. After a month in orbit it will deploy four 4-meter long rail between them unfold the petals triangular sails. However, for the full flight on solar photons satellite orbit is too low – the power of photons does not exceed the friction of the atmosphere. Therefore, the satellite will go into orbit for a few days.
About the secret US space shuttle a few days ago in a speech in the State Duma remember Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. However, he mentioned it in the context of the need for Russia to develop reusable space systems, to “multiply” reduce the cost of removing the payload into orbit. «X-37 – no cargo launch vehicle into orbit, and the cost of its launch is not known at all. I do not know what he meant Dmitry O., but reusable space systems, which went further than the draft on paper, including the American space shuttle, to a radical reduction in the cost of breeding did not result, “- said” Gazeta.ru “Corresponding Member Russian Academy of Cosmonautics. Tsiolkovsky Andrew, son of John.
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