Mission Extended For Secretive Air Force UAV That’s Orbiting the Earth
- Posted on November 30, 2011 at 9:44am by
Buck Sexton
- Print »
- Email »
(The Blaze/AP)– A secretive unmanned space plane is staying in orbit a little longer.
The experimental Air Force craft has been circling Earth for about nine months. The X-37B orbital test vehicle was due to land in California this week, but the Air Force said Tuesday that the mission will be extended. A landing date has not been set.
The plane resembles a mini space shuttle and is the second to fly in space. The first one landed itself last December at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California after more than seven months in orbit.
The X-37B is the second spacecraft built for the Air Force by Boeing’s Phantom Works. It carries the name Orbital Test Vehicle 2, or OTV-2.
The Air Force has said the second mission was to further test the craft, but the ultimate purpose has largely remained a mystery.
Here is some video of the secretive X-37B in action:
Popular Stories
Does Misstated Marathon Claim Prove Paul Ryan Is Dishonest? (POLL) 706 Comments
Paper Details Obama Admin’s Alleged Secret Note Sent to Iran: If Israel Attacks, We Won’t Get Involved 557 Comments
‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 372 Comments
This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 363 Comments
Roseanne Barr: Most Billionaires ‘Violent Pedophiles’ & ‘Heartless’ Cocaine Addicts 362 Comments
Faith
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 363 Comments
Pakistani Muslim Cleric Accused of Framing Disabled Christian Girl in Koran-Burning Case Read More- ‘Made Up Religion’: TV Historian Enrages Muslims, Receives Threats After Producing UK Documentary Questioning Islam’s Beginnings 372 Comments
Meet the Controversial German Imam Accused of Brutally Beating His Wife & Pushing Sharia Law Read More
‘Self-Proclaimed Messiah’ & Unification Church Leader the Rev. Sun Myung Moon Has Died — Here’s His Life Story Read More
Business
- President Obama Issues Major ‘Green Energy’ Executive Order 290 Comments
- Germany’s Upcoming Court Ruling Will be Huge for the EU Read More
Ford Looks to Beat Toyota for Best-Selling Car in 2012 With This Model 149 Comments
Bernanke & QE3: Here’s What You Need to Know Read More- ‘Extortion’: Why Did the Labor Department ‘Drop the Hammer’ on Oregon Farmers? 302 Comments
Technology
- This Is the Creationists‘ Response to Scientist Bill Nye’s Viral Pro-Evolution Video Claiming They Harm Children 363 Comments
‘TaserDrone’: Hackers Weaponize Quadcopter With Actual ‘Shocking’ Technology Read More
Ever Heard of the Wild ‘Burning Man’ Festival in the Middle of the Nev. Desert? Here’s Your Primer Read More
Stanford Develops Technology ‘Better Than Steroids’ for Athlete Recovery Read More
Have You Pretended to Know What ‘the Cloud’ Is? You’re Not Alone Read More
Submitting your tip... please wait!
Comments (78)
Russman
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:35pmHmmm,
Report Post »There was that mysterious explosion at the Iranian missle factory……………………..
sapper
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:02pmhmmmm, here is some simple truth for ya. Obama administration has cancelled Orion program, return to the moon, shuttle program and Constellation program at NASA. Thousands of people are out of work because of him. The oil and gas industry are in shambles with thousands out of work because of him and the economy sucks because of him. How they got this thing off is a mystery to me. Odd that the Air Force is the agency in control and not NASA. The only explanation is that it’s some kind of strategic platform either for spying or for overt military missions like laser heating a nuclear plant in Iran….the capability of which we have had for at least a decade but previously was mounted on high flying jumbo jets and yes they can pick out individuals on the ground….i.e. occupiers. Might be an orbital EMP platform as well…..lots of posibilities.
Report Post »jColes
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:44pmSapper…Nah, man…being some kind of strategic platform or EMP weapon are not the only explanations for this vehicle…Now keep this just between us, but it’s really the rendevouz point for face-to-face video teleconference negotiations with space aliens whose gelatinous body structures prevent them from landing on a full-gravity planet.
Report Post »Yep, that’s what it is, alright…
The negotiations are about a request from us to them to please, please take Mr. Obama back to where they found him…Seems that about 50 Earth years ago the aliens visited a planet where plants similar to our carrots are mobile and repeat dialog appearing on teleprompters for their interpersonal communications.
As a joke, they picked up one of carrots and brought it here — they thought it was a funny idea. Now, seeing what the space-alien carrot has done here they want to be paid to take it back to where it came from.
Their payment demands are extortionist — they want a three dollar bill to take him back…and therein lies the problem: if the USAF asks Congress to authorize the strange currency, the Democrats will know something’s up.
I’m told the USAF negotiators have offered two Chevy Volts and three UAW vice-presidents instead, but the aliens are holding out for their full and exact price.
The mission was extended to give the talks more time.
Miyegombo Bayartsogt
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:48pmIt might be a Muslim outreach vehicle designed and flown with the sole purpose of making Islamists feel good about their benighted beliefs.
Report Post »Ellie
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 7:05pmWhile I get what you are saying about secretive Air Force projects vs. transparent NASA ones, the Orion program is far from dead.
Still on the critical path is Mars and some space rock that is TBD.
While there were reductions in the budget (from 1.3T to ~900M/yr) I can assure you that the development of the launch vehicle, command module (CEV), and other components are still very much under active development in companies all around the country.
Report Post »rifradio
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 8:02pmJcoles:
llllllllllllloooooooooooooolllllllllllll!!!!!!
Report Post »rdk
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 5:59pmZap some more Iranian sites.
Report Post »thruthewormhole
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 5:21pmShhhhh….don’t tell obamma we have this….shhhh
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 4:13pmThey want our enemies to know we are up there and what exactly can we do to hurt them is the mystery that will keep them up at night…who knows what misinformation has been planted out there for their agents regarding this spacedrone. Maybe it does have a nuke on it and we’ll have a nice first strike capability without a huge alert time for the unannounced ICBM launch which would clearly alert them to a first strike. No doubt a jammer and listening device onboard and even a spy satellite killer technology.
Report Post »PPMStudios
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 3:50pmBetter put those aluminum foil hats on……
Report Post »seldomscene
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 7:15pmI am going with the hat and the foil crotch protector!
Report Post »Bargis Tryhol
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 3:37pmNotice the unique shape…It’s no coincidence that Barney Frank resigned and went home to bend over.
Report Post »gipb
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 3:50pmLOL (as I spew diet Dr Pepper all over my laptop)…..
Report Post »sapper
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 5:52pmmaybe they are waiting for Barney to get home before landing????
Report Post »alpha2omega47
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 3:30pmMy fellow mushrooms ~ just more political smoke and mirrors.
Report Post »mocon
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 3:38pmLeft in the dark and fed cow pies?
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 3:23pmIt will come in very handy when when the nukes start flying, we’ll take out all the enemy satelites .
Report Post »BlazingPatriot
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 3:20pmHope they keep that flying laser going a few more days up there so it can knock out a few more of Iran’s nuclear and missle sites! ;-|
…..Mums the word.
Report Post »BlazingPatriot
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 3:29pmhttp://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/a-second-iranian-nuclear-facility-has-exploded-as-diplomatic-tensions-rise-between-the-west-and-tehran/story-e6frg6so-1226209996774
Report Post »Tom K
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 3:45pm@BLAZINGPATRIOT: Are you reading my mind of what ? Once they knock out Iran’s missile system and nuclear program, they can start working on Russia‘s and China’s ICBM’s too. And just for the heck of it, zap North Korea’s nuke sites too. Can it target individual Occupiers ? Let there be peace on earth. Ho, Ho, Ho !
Report Post »BOMUSTGO
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:33pmBlazingpatriot…..Maybe we used a stealth cruise missile to take out that Iranian nuke site?? We do have stealth cruise missiles. Nobody seems to ever talk about them.
Report Post »http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGM-129_ACM
tharpdevenport
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 9:54pmIt’ll be a seen like out of the second episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” where the Crystaline Entity attacked the planet; the ray from it crawling across the surface, killing all life and people. Only, under the Obama entity, it will be Tea Party gatherings. ;-)
Report Post »BlazingPatriot
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 11:57pm@BOMUSTGO:
This is covert activity. Those stealth missiles are obsolete and it would take an act of war to use them. If we had, the entire Middle East would be chaotic at this moment due to retribution from Iran.
Highly Classified/Covert activity such as this will continue including more cyber attacks. Iran’s military computer systems are presently so badly infected with trojan viruses that paranoia is running rampant within their ranks.
Report Post »>>> Iran will NOT acquire a nuclear bomb.<<<
RejectFalseIcons
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 2:04pmThis is the replacement for the SR-71 blackbird, with the additional capabilities of being able to gather signal intelligence and operate as a hub for a network of other unmanned aerial vehicles in the event that other gps and command/control networks are knocked out. There’s probably also plans for it for wide-scale jamming (jamming the ground and airspace works better the higher up you are). It can be over anywhere in the world in ~90 minutes providing line of sight for microwave networks, camera feeds, and missile guidance. In short, it’s a temporary command satellite.
Report Post »shogun459
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 2:47pmAnd that just what we DO know.
Report Post »myway
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 2:03pmThis is awesome I am sure it can do some awesome things. GO NASA!
Report Post »The BRAIN
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 3:45pmIt ain’t NASA. It is Air Force and probably Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Report Post »qzak491
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:36pmThey used to launch the X-15 from a B52 and it could reach the edge of space. This thing is unmanned so it doesn’t have the constraints of G-forces a manned vehicle has. This thing looks about the size of a pick-up truck. What ever launched the Mars probe might be able to launch this thing, and if so could be launched from and Air Force base??? Remember that con trail in Cal., are there any Air Force bases there???
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 3:17pmVandenburg AFB
Report Post »qzak491
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 3:53pmThanks CHIEF. Appreciate the info.
Report Post »blackstone22
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:31pmThey are extending the orbiting mission indefinitely because the crew is made up of more women who claim to have had affairs with Herman Cain.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:35pmOr guys that have had affairs with Barry
Report Post »bonnie00000
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:22pmour elected know more about Obama then they are telling us… they cant do anything about him, he has his fingers on the button..therefore the people we elected over a barrell… if possible (if he is reelected, he will scrub america off the map . We had better pray for God to fix this situation.
Report Post »macpappy
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 7:08pmPray if you want to, but it will take a trip the the polls to win.
Report Post »bernbart
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:08pmI guess it’s NO secret if you already know about it.
Report Post »Thighmaster
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 2:47pmI’m not telling anyone….
Report Post »LLATPOH
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:08pmI’d love to work for Boeing on these projects. Amazing what they can do.
Report Post »Ming The Merciless
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:03pmHow can this be a ‘secret’ if it’s on the Blaze? I‘d like to see what they’re really hiding.
Report Post »skurk
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:38pmJust be present at the WH “US Enemy Briefing”….
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:02pmYou can track and sometimes view the X37B, by going to Heavens Above. You can easily see the ISS, and the other night I saw the Tiangong 1. Cool site
Report Post »chips1
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:54pmClose encounter of the forth kind?
Report Post »don young
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:49pmBut what are the real secrets that we dont know about they wont tell.
Report Post »BOMUSTGO
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:39pmA retired USAF Colonel and neighbor told me about this when I went to visit my folks in Ohio last year.
Report Post »Thighmaster
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:09pmWhere’s wikki leaks when we need them?
Report Post »GERATMO
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:08pmNow explain to me why the Air Force needs a space craft anyway? The only reason I can think of is spying or nuclear.
Report Post »BOMUSTGO
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:41pmSpy satelite placement and retrieval.
Report Post »Evil_Conservative
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 4:22pm@GERATMO “why does the airforce need a spacecraft?” lol. you have got to be kidding. The airforce could use a fleet of Stardestroyers if the governement could afford them.
Report Post »Puddle Duck
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 11:52amHow does this thing get into orbit now that the Shuttle program has been scrapped ?
Report Post »JLGunner
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:06pmOh, I remember the good ole days when we had a space program.
Report Post »SimpleTruths
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:19pmMaybe if you could tear yourself away from GB and his fellow propagandists for a few minutes you might realize the US space program is alive and well. Guess you missed the successful launch of the the most ambitious Mars explorer program in history. http://marsxplr.com/index
Report Post »Why do you hate America?
SimpleTruths
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:22pmStrapped to an Atlas 5 rocket. Wow that took all of about 5 seconds to find out using any number of search engines. You know you don‘t HAVE to stay dumb if you don’t want to.
Report Post »Mike N
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 12:29pmIt’s already in orbit . . . no need to do it again.
Report Post »Junter
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:09pm“Why do you hate America?” looks like the troll got out of the wrong side of the bed.
Report Post »SimpleTruths
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 1:22pm@JUNTER
Report Post »No I didn’t get up on the wrong side of the bed. I just get fed up with people who see everything through the lens of “if Obama is still in office then nothing our country does can be any good”. It seems that finding pride in our country for anything it does is a betrayal of some imaginary pledge you’ve taken. That strikes me as unAmerican.
DrFrost
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 2:44pm@SIMPLETRUTHS
Give the guy a break. Given the context he almost certainly meant “MANNED” space program.
Report Post »Puddle Duck
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 5:18pmthere is NO substitute for having manned vehicles up in space….unmanned stuff can only do so much besides an Atlas 5 isn’t exactly what I would call a major leap forward from the shuttle program. The manned space program brought a lot of inovation from tech used that filtered down to us lowly civilians. I could care less who’s in office the bottom line is this, cancelling manned programs is STUPID, period. In order to innovate one must have lofty goals, seemingly impossible ones.
Report Post »devan95
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:27pmThey are building a giant, solar powered sling shot in the Mojave Desert build from recycled condoms from Vegas….
Report Post »meeester
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:15pmAs soon as it proves effective against his pals…////… er our enemies
Report Post »