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X-37B Secret Space Plane To Land Soon

Posted by Soulskill on from the not-secret-enough dept.

Phoghat writes "The highly classified X-37B Space Plane is scheduled to land soon. It was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on April 22 atop an Atlas 5 rocket, and the Air Force is still being very secretive on all aspects of the flight. We do know that it's set to touch down at Vandenberg Air Force Base's 15,000-foot runway, originally built for the Space Shuttle program. In many ways, the craft resembles a Shuttle with stubby wings, landing gear and a powerful engine that allows the craft to alter its orbit (much to the dismay of many observers on the ground). Its success has apparently given new life to its predecessor, the X-34, which had been mothballed."

4 of 252 comments (clear)

  1. Offensive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    From the article:

    "This plane is so easy to fly that your grandmother could land it."

    As a 49 yo grandmother, feminist and C programmer of 20 years, I find that offensive. They wouldn't have said "grandfather" instead of grandmother.

    1. Re:Offensive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

      Oh wow, you programmed C for 20 years? incredible.... oh wait, guess what, any kid can program in C, it's taught at high schools, that's no accomplishment. When you get a Nobel prize for an incredible Scientific discovery (which is what Men have been doing, we've created all Science and Technology you see around you, you ungrateful cunt) then you can run your mouth about equality and what is and is not offensive, until then, STFU.

  2. Re:Bizarre they shelved them in the first place by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    A solution to WHAT? Manned space is a stunt. It solves no pressing issues and all it is is a thrill ride for rich adrenaline junkies. It's also so far away from a "spaceship" it's like calling a hang-glider a passenger jet. We have no commercial spacecraft. We have sub-orbital tin cans that go up and come down again. There never will be commercial space ships. Get over it.

  3. War in Space by Oceanplexian · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    A lot of technological advancements came from war. It's pretty obvious that the government don't care about peaceful space exploration since
    they killed manned spaceflight with no viable replacement. NASA was just a figurehead for a military operation.

    Hopefully, our need to find creative ways to kill each-other will result in more advanced spacecraft.