US Air Force reveals what is inside its top-secret space plane

The US Air Force has responded to fears that it is weaponizing space through its secret space shuttle by providing some details of what it will contain at launch on Wednesday. The now not-so-secret X-37B launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on an Atlas V rocket operated by the United Launch Alliance. According to the published manifest the X-37B will be carrying a new form of Hall ion-powered thruster, ten CubeSats, a satellite containing a TCP/IP web server, test equipment for plasma thrusters, and a device to control low-orbital vehicles, among other gizmos.

The ion thruster being carried aboard the X-37B is owned by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and is a new, hopefully more efficient version of a drive system that uses electrical fields to accelerate ions for thrust. An older model is currently in use on three military communications satellites. "Space is so vitally important to everything we do," said Major General Tom Masiello, AFRL commander. "A more efficient on-orbit thruster capability is huge. Less fuel burn lowers the cost to get up there, plus it enhances spacecraft operational flexibility, survivability and longevity." There's no word on how long testing will take, but it's not really an issue for the X-37B - the spacecraft already holds the longevity record for a reusable spacecraft with a 674-day sojourn that ended last year. That's a lot of testing time and it's likely there's more in the X-37B's holds than the Air Force is letting on