The truth is out there – but don’t expect the US Space Force to lift the lid anytime soon. Days after a senior figure spoke of the agency’s determination to ‘control the space domain’, mystery continues to surround the primary function of the X-37B spacecraft, which quietly returned to Earth on Friday after more than 14 months in orbit.
The $200 million (£155 million) spaceplane has now completed seven successful missions, yet its activities have for the most part remained highly classified.
The primary function of the craft is unknown, with Space Force revealing little about its purpose beyond hinting at a series of experiments involving ‘space domain awareness technologies’.
There is, however, clarity about the core mission of the US military’s space branch, which was spelled out earlier this week by Space Force General Bradley Chance Saltzman, the organisation’s chief of operations.
‘Domain control is the special province of warfighters, a unique responsibility that only military services hold,’ said Saltzman. ‘It is the thing that distinguishes the navy from the merchant marine and the air force from Southwest Airlines. It is the purpose of the Space Force to achieve space superiority.
‘Put simply, space control encapsulates the mission areas required to contest, to control the space domain, employing kinetic and non-kinetic means to affect adversary capabilities by disruption and degradation, even destruction if necessary.’
in late December 2023, fits into that overarching objective, although one possibility is that it will be used to monitor other orbiting spacecraft.
What is known, however, is that last October the craft undertook a series of manoeuvres that demonstrated, for the first time, its ability to change orbit. Known as aerobraking, the procedure essentially involves using the Earth’s atmosphere to slow down the vehicle.
The spacecraft ‘dips’ into the atmosphere, where gas molecules rub against it, creating resistance that slows it down.
The technique can alter the craft’s orbital trajectory, or slow it sufficiently to let gravity pull it earthwards. It also allows for the safe disposal of the service module mounted on the craft’s back – the contents of which have not been specified in this instance.
‘Mission 7 broke new ground by showcasing the X-37B’s ability to flexibly accomplish its test and experimentation objectives across orbital regimes,’ said Saltzman in a USSF statement.
‘The successful execution of the aerobraking manoeuvre underscores the US Space Force’s commitment to pushing the bounds of novel space operations in a safe and responsible manner.’
In common with the now retired space shuttle, the Boeing-built X-37B launches like a rocket and lands like a conventional aeroplane.
‘X-37B missions have continuously advanced our nation’s space capabilities by testing new technologies that reduce risk and inform our future space architectures,’ Holly Murphy, programme director for Boeing’s Experimental Systems Group, said in a video last November.
‘Mission seven is no different.’
Looking somewhat the worse for wear after its 43-day mission, the spacecraft touched down at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California in the early hours of Friday morning.
Addressing the Air and Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium in Aurora, Colorado, on Monday, Saltzman stressed the importance of space control in preparation for potential future combat.
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‘We need to sharpen every one of the components of readiness: personnel, training, equipment and sustainment. If any one of these elements is lacking, then our readiness as a whole is impacted.
‘Space superiority is an end goal [and] it’s the headquarters’ job to provide the means to achieve it, to create the environment, set the conditions for victory.’
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