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US already has weapons in orbit, Air Force secretary says (www.aerotime.aero)
submitted 5 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by to c/world@quokk.au
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The X-37b is everything you could want in an orbital surveillance, espionage and sabotage platform and it has existed for years...?

A good recent article on the x-37b

https://migflug.com/afterburner/fr/x-37b-space-force-mystery-spaceplane/

Officially, it tests reusable spacecraft technologies and carries experiments for the government. Unofficially, its knack for changing its orbit and vanishing from where trackers expect it has made it a favourite Cold-War-style headache for America’s rivals — a point a former Air Force secretary once made with unusual candour.

“It can do an orbit that looks like an egg, and when it’s close to the Earth it’s close enough to the atmosphere to turn where it is. Our adversaries don’t know where it’s going to come up next, and that drives them nuts. And I’m really glad about that.”

Heather Wilson — former U.S. Secretary of the Air Force (Aspen Security Forum, 2019)

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[–] [S] 7 points 5 days ago* (24 children)

Platforms like the X37b, don't listen to the golden dome bullshit or fantasizing about lugging tungsten rods all the way up into space to drop back down as weapons, but recognize that what you can do with an unmanned spaceplane that can move unpredictably between orbits without wasting a ton of fuel is basically undermine the entire global communications infrastructure in ways nobody can really guard against or necessarily even detect.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 days ago (12 children)

    Okay whats it equipped with?

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (11 children)

    A robotic arm, electronics warfare, signals intelligence equipment and high powered sensors, what else do you want or need?

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  • [–] 0 points 5 days ago* (9 children)

    So

    Pretty sure every modern nation has some of those flying about, pretty basic shit for sattelite equipment.

    Anything which qualifies as a weapon by most definitions?

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (7 children)

    No, virtually no other nation possesses this, China likely does to a certain extent and that is probably it.

    We are talking about an evolution of the space shuttle program, this is not something anybody possesses that cannot build a space shuttle type vehicle.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 days ago* (6 children)

    You claim no other nation has a spaceplane sattelite with

    1. Telecommunications equipment

    2. Robotic arms

    ?

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 5 days ago (5 children)

    A spaceplane not a satellite fool, they are radically different things.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 days ago (3 children)

    Technically anything capable of achieving orbit is a satellite, but a sub-orbital spaceplane would be drastically less effective at the listed objectives.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 4 days ago (2 children)

    It isn't suborbital, it uses highly eccentric orbits to aerobrake and shift to different ones, not what you are saying at all.

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  • [–] 0 points 4 days ago (1 child)

    So we agree it's a satellite.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

    Not in the common meaning of a manmade satellite, the chief difference being a normal satellite is highly limited in capability of changing and maintaining its orbit with a tiny reserve of fuel compared to a spaceplane that can also use its aerodynamics when it hits the atmosphere to redirect momentum and change orbits without firing thrusters hard.

    The X-37b is a reusable spacecraft which also makes it entirely different than a normal satellite.

    Are you just trolling me or can you really not understand the difference?

    If you are trolling me realize you aren't making yourself look very intelligent in the process.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 days ago

    Nothing new under the sun. It was one of the reasons for the space shuttle program and it is rumoured a few secret launches visited soviet satellites.

    The OG plan for the Hubble telescope was to bring it back with the space shuttle.

    Why is anyone surprised theres now drones in orbit with similar capabilties.

    They arent CnC Generals zero hour orbital cannons

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  • [–] 1 point 5 days ago* (10 children)

    Isn't the guard to be able to identify and intercept this platform? Sounds challenging at this scale, but so was air missile/drone interception, and it was achieved. I bet the USA and China are already working on this or even already achieved it.

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 5 days ago* (9 children)

    Nope, hitting an object in a predictable orbit is easy, this is a dynamic spaceplane capable of adjusting its trajectory arbitrarily.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    Aren't modern missiles and drones also able to adjust?

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 5 days ago*

    The absolute hardest thing to hit with a missile is a satellite that can arbitrarily change orbits without excessive fuel use (aerobreaking), i.e. a spaceplane. Is it possible? Of course, but it is 1000 times harder than a traditional satellite.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 days ago (5 children)

    Iran has missiles that do that, so it's not a stretch to think Russia, China, Israel have them too, and tbh maybe Iran.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 5 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (4 children)

    To hit predictable orbit satellites with very narrow capacities to adjust their orbit...

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  • [–] 0 points 5 days ago (3 children)

    Of course, how could I forget? No one comes close to American exceptionalism.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

    Where is your nation's space shuttle program again? What space shuttles have your country produced and used over decades that would give them the practical experience necessary to build a spacecraft like the x-37b?

    Yes, this is an exceptional capability of the US.....

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