BF2S Forums Military Space Planes, Oh my..

"Fundamentally, this is an updated version of the space shuttle," said Gary Payton, the U.S. Air Force's top civilian leader for military space programs. "The Air Force has a suite of military missions in space. This new vehicle could potentially help us do those missions better."

Although officials are openly discussing the X-37B platform itself, the Air Force is mum on exactly what payloads the unmanned ship carries inside its cargo hold, which is about the size of a pickup truck bed.

During several weeks or months in orbit, the X-37B will be a testbed for secret new technologies.

Future flights of the reusable spaceship could approach U.S. or foreign satellites, recover old spacecraft, or test out surveillance and repair techniques. The speculation leads some to voice concerns over the militarization of space.

During a teleconference with reporters Tuesday, Payton said none of those activities are part of the X-37B's first flight. The craft launching Thursday does not carry a robot arm like the shuttle, and there are no rendezvous objectives planned for the mission, according to Payton.

New heat shield technologies, advanced guidance and navigation, a solar power generation system, and new flight control systems are at the top of the list of public goals for the test flight.

"The primary objectives of the X-37 are to [prove] a new batch of vehicle technologies for America's future, plus readying and demonstratring the concept of operations for reusable experimental payloads," Payton said.

The X-37B will return to Earth only after it completes its top secret experiments in orbit.

A mini-space shuttle

With wings and a payload bay, the spaceplane has been labeled as a miniature military space shuttle. But it is not equipped to carry people and its capabilities are significantly more limited than the real thing.