U.S. military launches mystery space plane on secret mission
By Barbara Starr, CNN
CNN Senior Pentagon Correspondent
October 18, 2010 3:44 p.m. EDT



STORY HIGHLIGHTS

* X-37B OTV is classified Air Force project; never been fully explained by Pentagon
* It launched into space Thursday night from the Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida
* "Fundamentally, it's an updated version of the space shuttle," says official
* "The OTV has the potential to revolutionize how the Air Force operates in space," says official

Editor's Note: This story was first published in April.

Washington (CNN) -- Mystery surrounds the U.S. military's Orbital Test Vehicle, the X-37B OTV, which launched into space in April from the Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida.

Is it an aircraft? Is it the next generation space shuttle? How much does it cost? And why is it such a secret?

The X-37B OTV is a classified Air Force project that has never been fully explained by the Pentagon.

Some worry it may be the start of military operations in space -- that the plane might some day carry weapons to shoot down enemy satellites.

Some are concerned it may be used as a quick-response vehicle that could be sent very quickly with weapons to a danger spot, said Victoria Samson of the Secure World Foundation.

Fact Box

Military's Orbital Test Vehicle, X-37B OTV:
Primary Mission: Testing reusable space vehicle
Prime Contractor: Boeing
Height: 9 feet, 6 inches (2.9 meters)
Length: 29 feet, 3 inches (8.9 meters)
Wingspan: 14 feet, 11 inches (4.5 meters)
Launch Weight: 11,000 pounds (4,990 kilograms)
Power: Gallium Arsenide Solar Cells with lithium-ion batteries
Launch Vehicle: Lockheed-Martin Atlas V (501)

The private group says it is "dedicated to maintaining the secure and sustainable use of space for the benefit of Earth and all its peoples."

In a recent meeting with reporters, a top Air Force official rejected those types of suggestions. "I don't know how this could be called weaponization of space," said Gary Payton, deputy undersecretary for space programs. "Fundamentally, it's an updated version of the space shuttle."

Unlike the re-usable space shuttle, the X-37B is unmanned and much smaller. It is controlled from ground stations.

It can stay in space for 270 days, but the Air Force won't say how long it's staying up this time or what exactly it will be doing other than testing out its high tech guidance and navigation.

The Air Force won't even say how many billions of dollars it's spending on the program.

Military officials have said some of the things they hope will come from the X-37B. "The OTV has the potential to revolutionize how the Air Force operates in space by making space operations more aircraft like," said David Hamilton Jr., the Air Force Rapid Capabilities office director.

I don't know how this could be called weaponization of space. Fundamentally, it's an updated version of the space shuttle.
--Gary Payton, deputy undersecretary for space programs

The OTV "will provide a flexible space test platform to conduct various experiments and allow satellite sensors, subsystems, components and associated technology to be efficiently transported to and from the space environment where it will need to function," the Air Force said in a news release.

The OTV is the first vehicle since NASA's shuttle orbiter that has the ability to return experiments to Earth for further inspection and analysis, the Air force said.

It "will be used to test technologies including advanced guidance, navigation and control, thermal protection systems, avionics and high temperature structures and seals," the news release said.

"The X-37B is an important step in the effort to make space access more routine, affordable, and responsive," said Hamilton in the news release. "The technologies and concepts of employment that are proven by the Orbital Test Vehicle will be folded into development programs that will provide capabilities for our warfighters in the future."

News Link: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/04/23/space.plane/index.html?iref=allsearch

The 7 Most Mysterious Archaeological Finds on Earth

The 7 Most Mysterious Archaeological Finds on Earth

#1

© Berthold Steinhilber

Gobekli Tepe

Humans first settled into permanents towns, farmed and then built temples, in that order, starting in 8,000 B.C. Or did they?

An amazing archaeological discovery made in 1994 at Gobekli Tepe, a rural area of Turkey, has blown that hypothesis apart, prompting new questions about the evolution of civilization.

Containing multiple rings of huge stone pillars carved with scenes of animals and dating to the 10th millennium B.C., Gobekli Tepe is considered the world's oldest place of worship. Yet evidence also suggests the people who built it were semi-nomadic hunters, likely unaware of agriculture, which followed in the area only five centuries later. Because of Gobekli Tepe, archaeologists now have to ask which came first. Did building projects like this lead to settlement, and not vice-versa, as always thought?

#2

Credit: stock.xchng

The Great Pyramids

Even the information that archaeologists do know about the Great Pyramids of Egypt is enormously fascinating, to say nothing about what still might be uncovered.

Built almost 5,000 years ago in what is now Cairo, the three-pyramid complex — with the largest, Khufu, dominating the site — is a testament to the ancient Egyptians' reverence for their Pharaohs and the intricacies of their belief in the afterlife.

Archaeologists are still discovering new tunnels and shafts built within the pyramids, and are still searching for clues on who built the great monuments, how and why, even today.

#3

Credit: NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Nazca Lines

From the ground, the Nazca Lines of Peru are nothing spectacular. However, seen from the air, from which they were first spotted by commercial aircraft in the 1920s and 30s, they are staggering.

Archaeologists agree the enormous shapes — there are hundreds of them, ranging from geometric lines to complicated depictions of animals, plants and imaginary figures — were made over 2,000 years ago by people of the pre-Inca Nazca culture, who simply removed the red surface pebbles to reveal the lighter earth below in designs of their choice.
Just why they did it remains enigmatic, prompting conspiracy theorists to float ideas about alien landings and ancient astrology. The lines were more likely to have been a ritual communication method with the Nazca's deities, say archaeologists.

#4

A computer-generated reconstruction of the front and back of the Antikythera Mechanism. Credit: Antikythera Mechanism Research Project

Antikythera Mechanism

Like something from a fantastical treasure movie, the discovery of the Antikythera Mechanism remains a major archaeological head-scratcher.

Found in the sunken wreckage of a Greek cargo ship that is at least 2,000 years old, the circular bronze artifact contains a maze of interlocking gears and mysterious characters etched all over its exposed faces. Originally thought to be a kind of navigational astrolabe, archaeologists continue to uncover its uses and now know that it was, at the very least, a highly intricate astronomical calendar.

It is still the most sophisticated device ever found from that period, preceding the next appearance of similar devices by 1,000 years.

#5

Negev Desert in Israel. Credit: dreamstime

Ancient Animal Traps

Low stone walls crisscrossing the deserts of Israel, Egypt and Jordan have puzzled archaeologists since their discovery by pilots in the early 20th century.

The chain of lines — some up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) long and nicknamed "kites" by scientists for their appearance from the air — date to 300 B.C., but were abandoned long ago.
The mystery might be somewhat clearer thanks to a recent study claiming that the purpose of the kites was to funnel wild animals toward a small pit, where they could easily be killed in large numbers. This efficient system suggests that local hunters knew more about the behavior of local fauna than previously thought.

#6

Credit: stock.xchng

Stonehenge

Sprucing up an otherwise docile English field, the prehistoric monument commonly known as Stonehenge is one of the world's most famous landmarks.

The ring of megalithic stones was built approximately 4,000 years ago and was an impressive feat for the primitive people who constructed it — but that's about all archaeologists know for sure. None of the theories on the original purpose of Stonehenge, which range from an astronomical observatory to a religious temple of healing, has ever been, well, set in stone.

#7

One of the largest volcanic eruptions in the past 10,000 years occurred in approximately 1620 BC on the volcanic island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea. Following the 1620 BC eruption, much of the previous island of Santorini was destroyed or submerged; this event may have been the inspiration for the legend of the lost continent of Atlantis.Credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Atlantis

The lost city of Atlantis has been discovered in the Bahamas, the Greek Islands, Cuba, and even Japan — if every claim was to be believed.

First described by the ancient Greek historian Plato in 360 B.C., the mythological island was supposedly a great naval power before sinking into the sea over 10,000 years ago in a catastrophic event.

Archaeologists debate the actual historical existence of the island as well as its most plausible location — if it ever actually existed — among the many sunken ruins discovered around the world. But even without definitive proof, Atlantis continues to engage the popular imagination like few other archaeological mysteries out there.


Source: http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/earths-most-mysterious-archeological-discoveries--0367/7