Beyond laser technology, innovative space-based weapons are continuously
emerging. One of the most promising is the autonomous spaceship, similar to the
airborne drones used by the Air Forces worldwide. It is an automatic and unmanned
space vehicle capable of operating in Earth or lunar orbit for long periods and then
returning to the ground, landing on standard airstrips.
In recent years, perhaps no spacecraft has generated more speculation than the
US Air Force’s top-secret X-37B, the Boeing’s unmanned space vehicle
67
whose
shape recalls the old NASA shuttle. Unlike its ancestor, this spacecraft is
unmanned, much smaller and can be launched inside the fairing of a powerful
rocket such as the Atlas. Just like the shuttle, it can orbit for long periods around
the Earth, maneuvering and using a robotic arm, then land back on a runway. The
Air Force employs four X-37Bs. One of them set a record for staying in orbit for
718 days continuously.
This impressive mission fueled disparate theories about its operations in space.
It has been said that perhaps, it was used for intelligence above the Middle East
and Afghanistan, or for releasing micro-satellites. It may even have approached
the Chinese space station Tiangong, which crashed into the Pacific Ocean in 2018
and whose trajectory was often crossed by the US space drone. Not surprisingly,
Beijing has repeatedly accused Washington of operating its spaceship for hostile
purposes and even carrying nuclear weapons.
68
In 2020, one X-37B has been launched for a long-term mission carrying a
12-inch square photovoltaic radio-frequency antenna, named PRAM, supposed to
test the viability of a small-scale solar power system capable of converting sunlight to microwave energy.
69
This has confirmed US interest in solar power as a
future source of energy and demonstrated how the X-37B plays an essential role in
military space architecture. According to some, the space drone also applies pressure on rival nations to spend huge resources in countermeasures, as was the case
in the eighties when the Soviets quickly built the Buran shuttle to counter NASA’s,
but later abandoned the project as too expensive.
In 2011, the Chinese press reported the flight of a winged spacecraft, named
Shenlong
70
(“divine dragon”), which reached the Earth’s orbit after being released
at high altitude by an H-6 bomber.
71
Again in 2020, China launched onboard the
Long March 2F rocket,
72
an experimental reusable spaceplane that was supposed
67
https://www.boeing.com/defense/autonomous-systems/x37b/index.page.
68
Xinhua Press Agency 2017. SpaceX launches secret space plane X-37B for US military.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-09/07/c_136592461.htm.
6 9
h t t p s : / / w w w . f o r b e s . c o m / s i t e s / s c o t t s n o w d e n / 2 0 2 0 / 0 5 / 2 7 /
solar-power-experiment-launches-on-secret-space-plane/#4ee70fcd3e17.
70
https://www.globalsecurity.org/space/world/china/shenlong.htm.
71
https://www.space.com/18410-china-space-plane-project-mystery.html.
72
https://www.space.com/china-launches-experimental-reusable-spacecraft.html.
112 Battlestar Galactica: The Space Cyberwar of the Future
emerging. One of the most promising is the autonomous spaceship, similar to the
airborne drones used by the Air Forces worldwide. It is an automatic and unmanned
space vehicle capable of operating in Earth or lunar orbit for long periods and then
returning to the ground, landing on standard airstrips.
In recent years, perhaps no spacecraft has generated more speculation than the
US Air Force’s top-secret X-37B, the Boeing’s unmanned space vehicle
67
whose
shape recalls the old NASA shuttle. Unlike its ancestor, this spacecraft is
unmanned, much smaller and can be launched inside the fairing of a powerful
rocket such as the Atlas. Just like the shuttle, it can orbit for long periods around
the Earth, maneuvering and using a robotic arm, then land back on a runway. The
Air Force employs four X-37Bs. One of them set a record for staying in orbit for
718 days continuously.
This impressive mission fueled disparate theories about its operations in space.
It has been said that perhaps, it was used for intelligence above the Middle East
and Afghanistan, or for releasing micro-satellites. It may even have approached
the Chinese space station Tiangong, which crashed into the Pacific Ocean in 2018
and whose trajectory was often crossed by the US space drone. Not surprisingly,
Beijing has repeatedly accused Washington of operating its spaceship for hostile
purposes and even carrying nuclear weapons.
68
In 2020, one X-37B has been launched for a long-term mission carrying a
12-inch square photovoltaic radio-frequency antenna, named PRAM, supposed to
test the viability of a small-scale solar power system capable of converting sunlight to microwave energy.
69
This has confirmed US interest in solar power as a
future source of energy and demonstrated how the X-37B plays an essential role in
military space architecture. According to some, the space drone also applies pressure on rival nations to spend huge resources in countermeasures, as was the case
in the eighties when the Soviets quickly built the Buran shuttle to counter NASA’s,
but later abandoned the project as too expensive.
In 2011, the Chinese press reported the flight of a winged spacecraft, named
Shenlong
70
(“divine dragon”), which reached the Earth’s orbit after being released
at high altitude by an H-6 bomber.
71
Again in 2020, China launched onboard the
Long March 2F rocket,
72
an experimental reusable spaceplane that was supposed
67
https://www.boeing.com/defense/autonomous-systems/x37b/index.page.
68
Xinhua Press Agency 2017. SpaceX launches secret space plane X-37B for US military.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-09/07/c_136592461.htm.
6 9
h t t p s : / / w w w . f o r b e s . c o m / s i t e s / s c o t t s n o w d e n / 2 0 2 0 / 0 5 / 2 7 /
solar-power-experiment-launches-on-secret-space-plane/#4ee70fcd3e17.
70
https://www.globalsecurity.org/space/world/china/shenlong.htm.
71
https://www.space.com/18410-china-space-plane-project-mystery.html.
72
https://www.space.com/china-launches-experimental-reusable-spacecraft.html.
112 Battlestar Galactica: The Space Cyberwar of the Future