X-37B missions and days in orbit.
Special correspondent of this newspaper Xue Guanlan.
The U.S. X-37B orbiter is scheduled to make its seventh mission at 8:14 p.m. EST on the 11th. The exact mission of the X-37B has once again sparked speculation, and the first launch of the aircraft by the "Falcon Heavy" has also attracted attention. Zhang Xuefeng, an expert on Chinese affairs, said that this is likely to be a rare human spacecraft launched to operate in high orbit, which means that the full orbit operation capability of this spacecraft is verified. In the event that the United States halts direct ascent anti-satellite** tests, the X-37B's "non-physical destruction" anti-satellite capabilities are of great concern.
A "breakthrough" trial will be conducted.
The New York Post** 10 article entitled "Pentagon's mysterious X-37B space drone will be launched again" said that the US Space Force's mysterious X-37B drone is expected to soar into space again, this time to reach new heights - some speculate that it may be used to detect the threat of hostile national satellites. The oddly shaped spacecraft with stubby wings and a rounded bulldog-like nose was originally scheduled to take off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, last Sunday (Dec. 10) night, but the launch was delayed due to a powerful storm that swept across the East Coast, and was scheduled to launch from the Kennedy Space Center on a Falcon Heavy rocket at 8:14 p.m. ET on Monday. According to SpaceX, the probability of being suitable for launch on Monday night will rise to 70 percent, up from 40 percent last Sunday night.
According to the article, Chief of Operations Saltzman of the US Space Force explained that the flight, called OTV-7, will conduct "breakthrough" tests that "provide the United States with the knowledge to strengthen current and future space combat capabilities." The U.S. military said the drone's expected tests in space include tests of "future space domain perception technology." Experts speculate that this could mean that the X-37B will keep an eye on satellites launched by enemy countries, scanning the skies for potential threats. "Our space systems are threatened by a variety of increasing anti-satellite capabilities, and the joint force is threatened by increasingly sophisticated enemy space-based systems," Saltzman said in a statement to the U.S. Congress earlier this year. The flight is also expected to complete a NASA experiment that exposed plant seeds to the harsh radiation of long-term spaceflight, the U.S. Space Force said. According to the report, the Pentagon has previously used the X-37B to test a number of new technologies, including a small solar panel designed to convert solar energy into microwaves that could one day send energy from space back to Earth. The X-37B is also being used to deploy small satellites – although it is unclear what these satellites will actually be used for.
The Washington Post quoted Brian Vuitton, director of program planning at Safe World, as saying, "The United States is in a strange situation where they openly boast about how amazing and advanced it is, but don't provide any relevant information." Even the budget for the program is a mystery, the organization noted.
Regarding the US media's reference to the X-37B as a drone, Zhang Xuefeng, an expert on Chinese affairs, said in an interview with the Global Times that this does not quite meet the definition of UAVs in the Chinese context. The UAV in Chinese belongs to aircraft, and the X-37B belongs to spacecraft, which can be called an unmanned space shuttle.
For the first time, the "Falcon Heavy" was launched.
For the first time, the X-37B will use the Falcon Heavy rocket. Space Systems Command revealed in a press release that the launch is part of the Space Launch (NSSL) program and will involve tests running in a new orbit, according to the Air Force & Space Force Magazine. The X-37B has operated in low-Earth orbit in the past, about 110-500 miles above the ground, but the Falcon Heavy rocket can deliver a payload of 58860 pounds (much more than the weight of the X-37B) to more than 2 above the ground20,000 miles in geosynchronous orbit.
US media reported that since the Falcon Heavy rocket is more powerful than the rockets that launched the X-37B in the past, there is speculation that this mission of the spacecraft will operate in a higher orbit than the previous mission. It is unclear why such a vehicle, capable of flying in space for hundreds of days, needs to go further into the depths of space, since the X-37B project belongs to the US Space Force, and the related tasks are under secrecy.
Zhang Xuefeng said in an interview with the "Global Times" reporter that the US media called the X-37B a drone, which may be a rare spacecraft launched by humans to operate in high orbit. Most of the previous manned spacecraft operated in low-earth orbit, an important reason for which the cost of launching into low-earth orbit was low. Retrievable satellites tend to operate in sun-synchronous or low-Earth orbits, and they tend to carry out remote sensing operations and are not launched into medium and high orbits. Some spacecraft used for deep space exploration and return fly farther, but do not operate in high orbit around the Earth for long periods of time. With such a relatively small platform, it is unlikely that it will be deployed in high orbit for Earth observation and the use of space radiation to illuminate seeds, and there is no need to be in a more expensive high orbit. Most likely, it is to demonstrate and verify the capabilities of the X-37B to monitor and approach spacecraft of other countries in high orbits.
In addition, judging by previous missions, the X-37B has been in orbit for longer and longer periods of time. Air & Space Forces Magazine** said its last flight lasted 908 days, from May 17, 2020 to November 12, 2022. The previous mission durations were 780 days (7 September 2017 to 27 October 2019) (20 May 2015 to 7 May 2017) (11 December 2012 to 17 October 2014) (5 March 2011 to 16 June 2012) and 224 days (22 April 2010 to 3 December 2010). If the trend of extended mission days in orbit continues, the X-37B mission will not land until June 2026 or later. It is unclear how many more flights the spaceplane can withstand. In 2020, when Saltzman was still a lieutenant general, he hinted that the spacecraft may be nearing the end of its tests, the report said.
Zhang Xuefeng believes that the X-37B's on-orbit time continues to set records, which is actually comparing with himself, and has little reference significance. It is true that it has been in orbit longer than the previous space shuttle, but the latter is manned, and its mission is designed to carry out space-to-earth travel rather than long-term orbit operation, and the vast majority of satellites have been in orbit longer than the X-37B, which also indicates that the X-37B carries relatively more fuel.
Demonstration and verification of new anti-satellite technology
Zhang Xuefeng said that in the past, the X-37B gave people the feeling that they could "do anything". For example, it is equipped with a reconnaissance payload and can conduct reconnaissance on the ground. But its platform is relatively small, the cargo compartment is equivalent to the size of a pickup truck, and the volume that can accommodate reconnaissance payloads is limited, which is certainly inferior to specialized reconnaissance satellites. It is theoretically possible to launch satellites with it, but the size of its own platform also limits the size of the satellites it can launch. Moreover, the X-37B itself has to be sent into the sky by rockets, so that it can launch satellites, which is like moving a house with a large truck, which could have put things directly in the truck, but it turned out that it would have to be put into a pickup truck first, and then stuffed the pickup truck into the truck, which seems to be unnecessary. It seems that it can also carry out anti-satellites, but it seems that it is not as cost-effective as the "direct ascent anti-satellite**", and the X-37B was mainly operated in low orbit before, and could not go to high orbit to "pick up stars".
After the United States announced that it would no longer conduct direct ascent anti-satellite tests, it may launch the X-37B into a high orbit this time, on the one hand, it demonstrates the X-37B's "all-orbit operation capability," and on the other hand, it is also very likely to demonstrate and verify the ability to monitor and approach other countries' spacecraft in high orbits, and after possessing this capability, it can carry out soft damage to other countries' satellites. Physical destruction will inevitably create a large amount of space debris, which on the one hand may affect one's own use of space, and on the other hand, may lead to great international pressure. Even the United States has to take this into account. The X-37B's orbit change capabilities, precise maneuvering capabilities, and multi-mission payload capabilities enable it to get close to the opponent's spacecraft, release targeted payloads, and disable the opponent's satellites without creating space debris. Zhang Xuefeng said that at present, this ability is still theoretical, but it must not be ignored. ▲