Remember the Air Force’s secret space plane, the X-37B? If you don’t, I talked about it here, here, and here. Launched in March of last year, the X-37B was originally supposed to return from space after only 270 days. Now it is scheduled to land sometime in mid-June.
So what was the secret mission? What was the X-37B doing up in space? No one really knows. And no one knows why it was kept up in space for so long. Well, no one outside of the Air Force that is. Heck, the solar array aboard the X-37B was only supposed to provide enough power for nine months of operation in space. Some have theorized that it was spying on the Chinese space station Tiangong. Or maybe it is “a commando transport, a bomber or an orbital spy. It could launch, repair or reposition U.S. satellites in low orbit. It could carry sensors. It could even sneak up and disable or steal enemy satellites.”
Of course, the Air Force claims they are just trying to squeeze the X-37B as hard as they can to get every dollar out of it, claiming it’s a cost effective means of space travel. But reusable crafts tend to be more expensive, as the Danger Room article points out.
So what do you think? Put on your tinfoil hats and let ‘er rip. This thing is perfect for conspiracy theories.