The U.S. Air Force is on the verge of showcasing a new and long-sought after spaceflight capacity with its X-37B space plane, but it will do so on a space mission that's cloaked in secrecy.What the X-37B mission truly portends is in the eye of the beholder, from a game-changing tool to hone military hardware to a provocative harbinger of things-to-come in terms of space warfare.
Now ready for an Atlas boost into Earth orbit from Florida on April 20, the reusable robotic X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) is a small space shuttle-like craft. The craft will wing its way into Earth orbit, remain aloft for an unspecified time, then high-tail its way back down to terra-firma – auto-piloting down to a landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, or at neighboring Edwards Air Force Base as back-up.
I for one welcome our new robotic overlords, etc., etc.
The extent of the scientific and military avenues that such a space plane would open up are presently impossible to imagine. Though the payload capacity is much smaller, the fact that no on-board crew is required means that the descendants of the X-37B may actually be able to fulfill the functional vision of the Space Shuttle.
It's especially interesting to look at the USAF request-for-proposals at the start of the Space Maneuverability Vehicle program, almost 20 years ago. (The SMV became the X-40, which evolved into the X-37 aircraft and into the X-37B spacecraft. All have pretty much the same configuration, and the SMV is what kicked off the whole thing).
The SMV would explore the viability of having a small reusable second-stage-to-orbit spaceplane that could be launched on demand. It could be launched with any payload that fit in its bay, so it could perform almost any conceivable mission: do recon from space (basically becoming a super-high-altitude spy-plane), fill gaps in satellite constellations (in case a satellite is shot down or damaged in an accident, such as one of the GPS satellites or one of the satellites in the military's communications network), identify and survey orbiting objects (as fighter jets near international borders do... but they can't fly into space), escort space assets (thus possibly becoming the first space fighter), maybe even bombing from orbit.
... and, yes, the more peaceful Space Shuttle uses too. But you won't find those in the USAF's SMV RFP ;]