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X-37B, F9 landing video
Hello All,
Today's successful launch (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...1&v=9M6Zvi-fFv4 ) of one of Boeing's X-37B spaceplanes aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 (the first time an X-37B has ridden aboard a Falcon 9) actually benefited somewhat from the USAF-required cutoff of coverage of the second stage's portion of the ascent: While the coverage of the second stage stopped just after it separated, the on-board camera coverage of the first stage's "flip-over" maneuver, boost-back burn, coasting, re-entry burn, re-entry, landing burn, and touchdown were more extensive than what we usually see. The first stage's ascent was a pretty "lofted" one, for it didn't take long for it to "draw a bead" on Cape Canaveral from high above, as was shown by the camera mounted above the grid fins. The split-screen coverage of the final descent and touchdown at LZ-1 (Landing Zone 1) included a nice close-up of the landing with excellent natural lighting and sea & sky background. Also: This video includes--beginning at about 6:26--a brief Boeing presentation about the X-37B, which includes inflight and landing views, some of which were shot from on-board during previous X-37B flights. One test (from the previous OTS-4 mission) that was highlighted was that of a new Hall Effect Thruster (a type of ion engine), which was mounted on the rear fuselage of the spaceplane, next to its rocket nozzle. Such an electric thruster could--like the ion drive of the atmosphere-skimming GOCE satellite (see: http://www.google.com/search?source...1k1.7PoeE4ni9wM )--enable the X-37B to operate as a satelloid, orbiting indefinitely at *constant* altitudes far lower than can unpowered satellites.
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR |
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