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Amateurs Spy On US Spy Plane

Posted by timothy on from the doesn't-actually-exist dept.

arshadk writes with this excerpt from Wired's Danger Room: "The X-37B has generated intense interest, long before it ever left the ground. Boeing originally developed the 29-foot unmanned craft — a kind of miniature Space Shuttle — for NASA. Then, the military took over in 2004, and the space plane went black. Its payloads were classified, its missions hush-hush. ... You can even see the space plane for yourself: The X-37B is traveling in a slightly elliptical orbit more than 200 miles up, swooping from 43 degrees north latitude to 43 degrees south."

4 of 172 comments (clear)

  1. Where to look by Ironchew · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.heavens-above.com/
    Enter your coordinates (requires a login, otherwise it's 0 degrees N / 0 degrees E) and look for the X-37B link under "Satellites".

  2. Re:Was that supposed to be a summary? by Dan+East · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here's a summary:
    Each time the X-37B is launched a bunch of amateurs make a game out of finding it in orbit. It took a month to find it using telescopes on the first mission, but only 4 days on the current mission. It is currently in a very low (lower than the space station) non-polar orbit, which is unusual for spy satellites, because it will never cross large areas of the planet. So they presume it is used for spying on specific areas on this mission, likely the Middle East as it has good coverage of that area. Basically all that's known is its orbit, not what it is capable of nor what it is actually doing.

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    Better known as 318230.
  3. Re:Was that supposed to be a summary? by camperdave · · Score: 4, Informative

    If they wanted good coverage of the Middle East, they'd put the bird in a Molniya style orbit. This sounds like a circular orbit

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    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  4. Re:Hard to believe by ZankerH · · Score: 5, Informative

    If the US Military wants to not be seen, they can do it. This is probably some object they put up their for the enemy to track. They are very good at what they do!

    This is space we're talking about. And There Ain't No Stealth In Space.