In recent years, with the rapid development of science and technology, mankind has continuously taken an important step towards the pace of space exploration. Among them, the X-37B unmanned space shuttle developed by the US Space Force has attracted much attention. However, there has been a rather puzzling news recently: the seventh space mission of X-37B, which was originally scheduled to set sail at 8 p.m. on November 12, was due to"Ground causes"It had to be postponed until after the early hours of tomorrow.
This sudden change not only added a lot of uncertainty to the mission, but also attracted the attention and speculation of the majority of scientific researchers and military fans. Faced with this situation, can we find out the real reason through in-depth analysis?
Specifically, first of all, it needs to be clear that the X-37B, as the world's only reusable aerospace fighter with autonomous return capabilities, is of self-evident importance.
Since its inception, this model has been regarded as one of the leaders in the field of manned spaceflight in the world, and the technologies verified by it have great strategic value and scientific research significance. Therefore, despite the possible consequences of today's postponement, we are confident that all those involved will do their utmost to ensure the successful completion of the mission.
Second, the timing of the reconstructed launch has also raised concerns about the stability of SpaceX's ground equipment. As we all know, like"Heavy Falcon"Such a large rocket requires a lot of complex ground preparation. Whatever the reason for the failure or delay of this type of work, it may affect the final launch result.
Considering the extreme requirements for precision and reliability of modern high-tech equipment, it makes sense to take immediate countermeasures to ensure safety.
Further, there is even a view among the public that the X-37B launch may be interfered with by political factors or other interest groups.
In fact, it is understandable that any country or region will give priority to protecting its military and technological superiority. Therefore, competition and games in the field of aerospace are also a normal phenomenon in reality.
The X-37B aircraft, one of the secret aeronautical projects carried out by the United States, has attracted attention because of its many nicknames of "space aircraft" and "space fighter". It is worth noting that the unique performance of this vehicle is that it can rely on the launch of a rocket to achieve a long stay in space, and can successfully return to Earth and land successfully with its own power.
Since 2010, the X-37B has completed four of its seven missions, especially in the past year, the X-37B has completed its sixth flight and return process, and has held the record for 908 days in orbit. On its return to Earth, the X-37B also abandoned a mission module in outer space and released a U.S. satellite.
Although U.S. officials have reservations about such projects and are reluctant to disclose too many details, some academics have pointed out that the X-37B may be given the role of building a "nuclear bomb base" in space. First of all, because the X-37B is difficult to locate, if it is equipped with a large number of nuclear weapons, it can pose a strong threat to all countries.
Secondly, the X-37B has the peculiarity of almost "forever running" due to the fact that there is no need to take into account the living environment of personnel.
Previously, Russian experts once said that by 2025, the United States may deploy a total of eight such aerospace aircraft, including the X-37B, each X-37B can be equipped with six nuclear warheads, which will certainly bring great pressure and challenges to the world.
In addition, the "Musk giant rocket" used by the X-37B for its seventh mission has also caused heated public discussions. It is known that the X-37B is relatively small, and its take-off weight is only close to 5 tons compared to the size of a full-fledged fighter.
Such a slight size requires the Falcon Heavy, a powerful rocket with a take-off weight of more than 1,400 tons and a thrust of an astonishing 2,280 tons. This indicates that the X-37B's trajectory is not just in low-Earth orbit at an altitude of several hundred kilometers, but is likely to be active near geostationary orbit at an altitude of nearly 36,000 kilometers.
The larger engine drive will undoubtedly bring back more possibilities for the X-37B, so the mission module on this mission is also a point of great concern to the outside world.
Of course, there is no need to envy the kind of aeronautical engineering carried out by the United States. In fact, China has also invested significant resources in the research and development of reusable space vehicles. On May 8 this year, China's self-developed first space vehicle that can achieve multiple applications successfully completed a return operation, when it stayed in space for 276 days.
It is widely expected that similar projects will continue to be tested in the future, and will play a crucial leading role in the peaceful use of space in the future. At the same time, compared with the United States, China has always adhered to the strategic idea of peaceful development, so there is no "catch up" competition.
On the contrary, China will steadily advance the implementation of the space vehicle program in accordance with its own development plan.
What's more, China also has its own advanced large-scale rocket technology - the Long March 5 rocket, which shoulders the major task of launching the module for the space station.
The Long March 5 rocket has a staggering take-off weight of more than 800 tons, and its payload capacity is as high as 14 tons if the criteria for the geostationary orbit are to be judged. Therefore, it is not a problem at all to launch aircraft such as the X-37B.
In addition, through our continuous exploration and hard work, the new Long March 9 heavy-lift launch vehicle has made remarkable breakthroughs and is about to usher in a new chapter. What we expect is that the rocket will be able to easily deliver cargo with a total mass of 100 tons into low earth orbit.
Although in the vast sky domain, the United States has tried to carry out an exclusive and hegemonic predatory behavior in an attempt to make every effort to curb the positive development of China's space industry.
However, it is precisely because of this repressive behavior that we have strengthened our determination to conduct research and development independently. Now it seems that in the complex field of aerospace science and technology, it is difficult for the United States to gain any benefits from it.