New Weaponry Era Dawns with Unmanned Space VehiclesApril 30, 2010
 The Pentagon shot two unmanned space vehicles into Earth's orbit in April, underscoring its efforts to develop a super fast, high-altitude weapon system that could dominate from above even the highest-flying jet fighters. The Washington Times reported that the U. S. Air Force, which has jurisdiction in space, launched the troubled X-37B space plane for the first time. The unmanned plane piggybacked on an Atlas rocket into orbit. Once in orbit, it behaves much like the Space Shuttle, descending into Earth's atmosphere and then landing like a plane. The vehicle has been in development for more than 10 years and had a "tumultuous history," Gary Payton, the Air Force's deputy undersecretary for space programs, told The Washington Times. The X-37B could remain in orbit for up to nine months. "We don't know when it's coming back for sure," Payton said. "It depends on the progress that we make with the on-orbit experiments." The other space vehicle did not stay in orbit for long. The Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2), also known as the Falcon, was to fly a 30-minute, 4,100-nautical-mile flight test, but he Pentagon lost contact with the experimental plane after it separated from the launch rocket. The hypersonic glider was supposed to splash down in the Pacific. The Falcon launches on the back of another rocket, in this case a decommissioned ballistic missile. Once it detaches from the missile just outside Earth's atmosphere, it was supposed to glide back down at more than 13,000 miles per hour. Defense analysts note that the Falcon is part of the military's push to build the capability to strike anywhere in the world with a conventional warhead at a moment's notice, a strategy called Conventional Prompt Global Strike, or CPGS, according to The Washington Times. The newspaper also reported that the U.S. Strategic Command said the Falcon would help show key capabilities in a new class of weapons that can be launched into space and then glide to earth at hypersonic speed to hit a target on Earth with a conventional warhead. The purpose of the X-37B space plane, however, is less clear because the project remains highly classified. "What does it do? Nobody knows," John Pike, an analyst at Virginia-based think tank GlobalSecurity.org told The Washington Times. He added that the Air Force is determined to have a plane-like weapon system that cab orbit Earth. "There is a doctrinal imperative for such a vehicle that transcends any describable mission it might have." |
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