GIGANTIC Aviation Week story, Pentagon has been flying 2-stage orbital spaceplane throughout 1990s&# |
GIGANTIC Aviation Week story, Pentagon has been flying 2-stage orbital spaceplane throughout 1990s&# |
| Guest_BruceMoomaw_* |
 Mar 6 2006, 02:24 AM
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It may even have been manned:
http://www.aviationnow.com/avnow/news/chan...ws/030606p1.xml My God, what a story -- if it's even partially true. And, judging from this article, they are absolutely certain they have proof (along with proof that the thing, although it works, has recently been mothballed as not cost-effective). It's important to keep in mind, though, that this thing is NOT a workable prototype of the originally planned 2-stage winged Space Shuttle. The second stage -- the spaceplane that actually achieved orbit -- was relatively small and probably very inefficient as a cargo carrier; its advantage lay in allowing the US to get a military reconaissance (or weapons) satellite into orbit surreptitiously, with no advance warning of the launch going to other countries. Even at that, as I say, AW reports that the thing has been recently canned as not worth its (doubtless huge) black-budget expense. |
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Mar 8 2006, 07:24 AM
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Member  Group: Members Posts: 688 Joined: 20-April 05 From: Sweden Member No.: 273 |
Also remember that there is a school of thought that contends that "black" programs are actually more efficient since the security restrictions mean that the number of people involved is minimized and the bureaucratic superstructure largely eliminated.
Having 30 years of experience in the aerospace business I must say it sounds plausible. Whew! Just imagine getting rid of most of those meetings, reviews and milestones....  tty |
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Mar 8 2006, 09:58 AM
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 Member Group: Members Posts: 563 Joined: 29-March 05 Member No.: 221 |
Lots of info about the XB-70 What an aircraft!
Worth repeating: GregM No one would ever believe those numbers if there weren’t an actual vehicle attached to them. Not even today. For an aircraft of several generations ago it is astonishing. |
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Mar 17 2006, 02:56 AM
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 Member Group: Members Posts: 292 Joined: 29-December 05 From: Ottawa, ON Member No.: 624 |
QUOTE (paxdan @ Mar 8 2006, 02:58 AM)  Lots of info about the XB-70 What an aircraft! Worth repeating: GregM No one would ever believe those numbers if there weren’t an actual vehicle attached to them. Not even today. For an aircraft of several generations ago it is astonishing. If you really want a good cry, read about the CF-105 Avro Arrow.
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BruceMoomaw GIGANTIC Aviation Week story Mar 6 2006, 02:24 AM
tasp QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Mar 5 2006, 08:24 PM... Mar 6 2006, 02:56 AM mcaplinger Interesting, but I don't think AW&ST's... Mar 6 2006, 02:58 AM BruceMoomaw Whatever happened to the "donuts on a rope... Mar 6 2006, 03:44 AM deglr6328 Completely fascinating. Virtually all the details... Mar 6 2006, 06:30 AM
Bob Shaw Jeffrey Bell is really worried about the threat fr... Mar 6 2006, 11:44 AM BruceMoomaw Jeffrey Bell, that eternal party-pooper, caught no... Mar 6 2006, 07:54 AM paxdan The set up described reminds me of the Tagboard pr... Mar 6 2006, 11:37 AM tty Actually this is a rather typical Jeff Bell effort... Mar 6 2006, 07:56 PM Myran Thats very insightful deglr6328, and without enoug... Mar 6 2006, 11:36 AM edstrick ET Phone Area-51?
Actually, I've recently rea... Mar 6 2006, 12:00 PM Bob Shaw Here are grabs from the AW&ST website:
http:/... Mar 6 2006, 01:25 PM Ames Where does the undercarriage go?
doesn't ... Mar 6 2006, 02:16 PM BruceMoomaw QUOTE (tty @ Mar 6 2006, 07:56 PM) Fortun... Mar 6 2006, 10:53 PM BruceMoomaw Footnote: the Titan 2 second stage weighed 29,000 ... Mar 6 2006, 11:15 PM tasp QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Mar 6 2006, 05:15 PM... Mar 7 2006, 02:59 AM Bob Shaw QUOTE (tasp @ Mar 7 2006, 02:59 AM) We ca... Mar 7 2006, 10:23 AM Bob Shaw One *possible* vehicle which may form part of a so... Mar 7 2006, 04:36 PM tty Well, I’ve been doing some more figuring and I mus... Mar 7 2006, 08:43 PM dvandorn Just a little gedankenexperiment, here -- anyone c... Mar 7 2006, 09:48 PM AlexBlackwell QUOTE (dvandorn @ Mar 7 2006, 09:48 PM) J... Mar 7 2006, 09:57 PM Bob Shaw QUOTE (dvandorn @ Mar 7 2006, 09:48 PM) J... Mar 7 2006, 10:08 PM JTN QUOTE (Bob Shaw @ Mar 7 2006, 10:08 PM) C... Mar 7 2006, 10:44 PM dvandorn Good point, Alex -- NRO probably would run such an... Mar 7 2006, 10:02 PM dvandorn I'm not trying to imply conspiracies -- though... Mar 7 2006, 10:32 PM dvandorn I have to admit, when I saw the Blackstar story, t... Mar 7 2006, 10:57 PM BruceMoomaw According to the article, not even the nation... Mar 8 2006, 01:26 AM GregM So let’s see here. To start with we have the Valky... Mar 8 2006, 04:02 AM Bob Shaw Jim Oberg on MSNBC.Com Space News summed up the Bo... Mar 8 2006, 11:09 AM GregM QUOTE (Steve G @ Mar 17 2006, 02:56 AM) I... Mar 17 2006, 03:45 AM dvandorn In re the Avro Arrow:
QUOTE (GregM @ Mar 16 ... Mar 18 2006, 03:19 PM Steve G QUOTE (dvandorn @ Mar 18 2006, 08:19 AM) ... Mar 18 2006, 09:03 PM BruceMoomaw It should be remembered that there is still -- to ... Mar 8 2006, 11:04 AM paxdan QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Mar 8 2006, 11:04 AM... Mar 8 2006, 11:11 AM tty [quote name='BruceMoomaw' date='Mar 8 ... Mar 8 2006, 11:18 PM gndonald QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Mar 8 2006, 07:04 PM... Mar 17 2006, 04:14 PM Bob Shaw QUOTE (gndonald @ Mar 17 2006, 04:14 PM) ... Mar 17 2006, 08:40 PM ljk4-1 QUOTE (Bob Shaw @ Mar 17 2006, 03:40 PM) ... Mar 17 2006, 09:38 PM edstrick I believe "AirCraftFilms", the companion... Mar 8 2006, 12:41 PM BruceMoomaw QUOTE (Bob Shaw @ Mar 8 2006, 11:09 AM) J... Mar 8 2006, 01:27 PM ljk4-1 I found this post from the FPSPACE list very inter... Mar 8 2006, 02:49 PM AlexBlackwell QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Mar 8 2006, 01:27 PM... Mar 8 2006, 04:48 PM BruceMoomaw QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Mar 8 2006, 04:48 ... Mar 9 2006, 12:39 AM ljk4-1 It is a known fact that the CIA and USSR "sup... Mar 9 2006, 03:56 PM AlexBlackwell QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Mar 9 2006, 12:39 AM... Mar 9 2006, 04:55 PM BruceMoomaw Okay, but a magazine which (according to you) is c... Mar 9 2006, 09:17 PM AlexBlackwell QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Mar 9 2006, 09:17 PM... Mar 9 2006, 09:32 PM BruceMoomaw QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Mar 9 2006, 09:32 ... Mar 10 2006, 05:24 AM Bob Shaw From Wikipedia:
"One notable variant of the ... Mar 10 2006, 09:46 AM ljk4-1 Blackstar: False Messiah From Groom Lake
http://w... Mar 10 2006, 12:16 PM BruceMoomaw Bell, having now read the two other Aviation Week ... Mar 11 2006, 11:31 AM Bob Shaw Is it a bad sign when Jeffrey Bell starts agreeing... Mar 11 2006, 11:37 AM gpurcell QUOTE (Bob Shaw @ Mar 11 2006, 11:37 AM) ... Mar 12 2006, 02:23 AM tty Here it is Jeff Bell who is off speculating in the... Mar 12 2006, 04:45 PM Bob Shaw QUOTE (tty @ Mar 12 2006, 04:45 PM) If yo... Mar 12 2006, 09:17 PM ljk4-1 Six blind men in a zoo: Aviation Week's mythic... Mar 13 2006, 05:13 PM AlexBlackwell QUOTE (ljk4-1 @ Mar 13 2006, 05:13 P... Mar 13 2006, 05:25 PM helvick QUOTE (AlexBlackwell @ Mar 13 2006, 05:25... Mar 13 2006, 06:04 PM gpurcell Ouch, that's GOTTA hurt. Mar 13 2006, 07:01 PM tty Just one small point. That nuclear-powered soviet ... Mar 13 2006, 07:05 PM ljk4-1 This Web page has excerpts from the 1958 AW&ST... Mar 13 2006, 07:29 PM Myran Two US built nuclear jet engines at Idaho National... Mar 13 2006, 09:53 PM BruceMoomaw Having finally read all of Dwayne Day's story,... Mar 18 2006, 03:51 AM Bob Shaw QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Mar 18 2006, 03:51 A... Mar 18 2006, 01:36 PM gpurcell QUOTE (Bob Shaw @ Mar 18 2006, 01:36 PM) ... Mar 18 2006, 01:58 PM BruceMoomaw QUOTE (gpurcell @ Mar 18 2006, 01:58 PM) ... Mar 19 2006, 01:16 AM AlexBlackwell QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Mar 19 2006, 01:16 A... Mar 20 2006, 05:13 PM ljk4-1 http://www.janes.com/defence/air_forces/ne...60406... Apr 12 2006, 06:23 PM BruceMoomaw Four more Aviation Week letters on the BlackStar s... Apr 21 2006, 01:20 PM tty Piggybacking on a B-70 would not be a good idea ae... Apr 21 2006, 05:07 PM ljk4-1 Black projects don't seem to be having any bud... May 23 2006, 07:09 PM climber I heard this week on the radio that the whole USA ... May 23 2006, 07:34 PM ljk4-1 Looks like they had a plan similar to the one from... May 23 2006, 08:15 PM |
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