American experts are actively working on the project of the unmanned shuttle X-37B. It is reported that the shuttle is currently being prepared for the third mission (OTV-3). This mission should be carried out in October. I would like to consider the mission in detail, but, for obvious reasons, the work is being carried out in the strictest secrecy, reports Cnews.ru.
It is planned to launch the X-37B shuttle aboard the Atlas-5 launch vehicle. The launch should take place from a cosmodrome in Florida. So far, the exact launch date has not been disclosed, because, according to the American side, there may be changes related to weather conditions and the results of the launch preparation.
There is no information about how long the launch of the X-37B shuttle will take.
Today, versions are being put forward that the mission may well not be near-Earth. This version is prompted by the results of experiments, during which a record was recorded for the duration of the mission. The record was 469 days. This value is quite acceptable in order to use the shuttle to study other celestial bodies of the solar system.
It is known that the American-made space object Mars Science Laboratory, which managed to lower the Curiosity apparatus to Mars, flew to the Red Planet for 255 days. It turns out that the safety margin of the new shuttle is almost 2 times higher.
It is not entirely clear whether the X-37B shuttle will be able to break the world record for orbital stay or not, but one thing is clear that breakthroughs in space exploration can be expected.
Experts say the Americans may well use their new spacecraft to destroy orbiting satellites and also bombard them from orbit. In addition, the shuttle's special trajectory makes it an extremely difficult object to observe.
It is reported that the X-37B is 10 meters long, weighs 5,000 kg and has a wingspan of 5 meters. As a lifting device, it can take on board about 0.9 tons of cargo. And this is quite enough to accommodate the W88 thermonuclear warhead.
