The Pentagon's most mysterious spacecraft just got more intriguing. At a conference in California, Art Grantz, project manager for aerospace giant Boeing, detailed plans for an enlarged, passenger-carrying variant of the company’s X-37B robotic ‘space plane.’
The X-37B is essentially a quarter-scale version of the Space Shuttle flown by NASA between 1981 and 2011. Launched atop an Atlas V rocket, the 29-foot-long X-37B is used to carry small payloads into orbit and return them to Earth up to 270 days later, landing like an airplane.
The Air Force claims the X-37B is strictly for experimental purposes, though the flying branch has been vague on details. The craft’s versatility means it could probably be used for many other tasks. ‘You can put sensors in there, satellites in there,’ says Eric Sterner, from The Marshall Institute in Virginia.
Boeing has built two X-37Bs. The first flew its inaugural mission between April and December last year. The second X-37B launched in March. The space plane’s nominal mission endurance is nine months, but the Air Force ‘will try to extend it as circumstances allow,’ said Lt. Col. Tom McIntyre.
Meanwhile, Grantz revealed Boeing’s plans for an X-37C model, which would be nearly twice as long as the B version, with sufficient capacity for up to six astronauts. The X-37C could be controlled robotically – or by a human pilot. ‘Once qualified for human flight, these vehicles could transport a mix of astronauts and cargo to the [International Space Station] and offer a much gentler return to a runway landing for the space tourism industry,’ Grantz wrote in a report.
With the Space Shuttles headed for museums, the United States doesn’t currently possess a vehicle capable of carrying astronauts. For crew swaps aboard the International Space Station, Washington rents Russian Soyuz capsules. NASA is developing a new passenger capsule and a new, large rocket for manned missions; a number of private companies are also experimenting with manned spacecraft. If Boeing proceeds past the study phase, the X-37C could compete with these systems.
Space planes capable of landing on runways remain very much in vogue, four decades after the Space Shuttle’s development. Russia and China for their part have both reportedly experimented with small space planes similar to the X-37B.
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Anon
no, it was never intended to be a replacement, and it never will be.
As long as the military is using it for sensitive missions in space, it will not be available for any civilian activity… is my thought.
Besides, what are the benefits of this vs SLS or Falcon 9? Would a man rated version be done significantly sooner?
Maud dib
SLS and Falcon 9 are launch vehicles, this is a spacecraft. Why it is good, has longer on orbit capability than did the shuttle and like the shuttle (unlike capsules) has cross range to land at designated runway, not in a field or in the ocean. However, what will it cost and how long to do it are good questions!
watcherofthesky
The C version will likely be built for the military and civilian use with a variety of launch platforms, rated by weight, and missions. The current civilian efforts are likely to be ready for human use sooner and the cargo versions are almost ready to make the trip to the ISS. The 37C would probably be configured in many ways to allow for NASA, commercial/civilian tourist-type short flights, and possibly even CIA/military covert flights. If Boeing is building the prototype only on the government budget, what harm is done having another stick in the fire, no different than the other private/civilian companies? Competition is always healthy, don’t you think?
Jack
I thought the US was facing economic problems. Its seems the country sinking itself ecnomically with these expensive toys
anon
It’s hardly a ‘toy’ Jack.
You also might want to research how much of the budget our spaceflight research and manned missions take up, It is relatively minimal.
I suppose you’d want to stifle the exploration, research, and profitability of the next frontier to clear room for welfare and social security right?
Mark
Yes.space is not the next frontier.That would be research and development of this planet to benefit the common man.ALL space science is a waste of time and money.We as a species are NOT going to other worlds to populate and exploit.This is it planet, Earth.Learn to live within it’s constraints or perish.
dole
China must be panicking by now, but wait until these satellite killers goes full production.
Frank
Actually, China already “copied” one.
Google a picture of H-6 bomber carrying a “shuttle” in its under belly.
It looks very similar to this.
It is India that should be panicking.
Ted Wilson
Let the military black prgrams develop the next space shuttle because they have huge discretionary budgets that can’t get screwed up by a clueless congress.