Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed the US already has weapons in orbit but declined to identify them or explain how they operate.

The X-37b is everything you could want in an orbital surveillance, espionage and sabotage platform and it has existed for years…?

A good recent article on the x-37b

https://migflug.com/afterburner/fr/x-37b-space-force-mystery-spaceplane/

Officially, it tests reusable spacecraft technologies and carries experiments for the government. Unofficially, its knack for changing its orbit and vanishing from where trackers expect it has made it a favourite Cold-War-style headache for America’s rivals — a point a former Air Force secretary once made with unusual candour.

“It can do an orbit that looks like an egg, and when it’s close to the Earth it’s close enough to the atmosphere to turn where it is. Our adversaries don’t know where it’s going to come up next, and that drives them nuts. And I’m really glad about that.”

Heather Wilson — former U.S. Secretary of the Air Force (Aspen Security Forum, 2019)

  • FiniteBanjo@feddit.onlineEnglish
    11·
    30 days ago

    So

    Pretty sure every modern nation has some of those flying about, pretty basic shit for sattelite equipment.

    Anything which qualifies as a weapon by most definitions?

    • supersquirrel@lemmy.caOP
      41·
      30 days ago

      No, virtually no other nation possesses this, China likely does to a certain extent and that is probably it.

      We are talking about an evolution of the space shuttle program, this is not something anybody possesses that cannot build a space shuttle type vehicle.

      • FiniteBanjo@feddit.onlineEnglish
        31·
        30 days ago

        You claim no other nation has a spaceplane sattelite with

        1. Telecommunications equipment

        2. Robotic arms

        ?

          • FiniteBanjo@feddit.onlineEnglish
            21·
            29 days ago

            Technically anything capable of achieving orbit is a satellite, but a sub-orbital spaceplane would be drastically less effective at the listed objectives.

            • supersquirrel@lemmy.caOP
              1·
              29 days ago

              It isn’t suborbital, it uses highly eccentric orbits to aerobrake and shift to different ones, not what you are saying at all.

                • supersquirrel@lemmy.caOP
                  1·
                  29 days ago

                  Not in the common meaning of a manmade satellite, the chief difference being a normal satellite is highly limited in capability of changing and maintaining its orbit with a tiny reserve of fuel compared to a spaceplane that can also use its aerodynamics when it hits the atmosphere to redirect momentum and change orbits without firing thrusters hard.

                  The X-37b is a reusable spacecraft which also makes it entirely different than a normal satellite.

                  Are you just trolling me or can you really not understand the difference?

                  If you are trolling me realize you aren’t making yourself look very intelligent in the process.

    • SirLeToet@lemmy.world
      2·
      29 days ago

      Nothing new under the sun. It was one of the reasons for the space shuttle program and it is rumoured a few secret launches visited soviet satellites.

      The OG plan for the Hubble telescope was to bring it back with the space shuttle.

      Why is anyone surprised theres now drones in orbit with similar capabilties.

      They arent CnC Generals zero hour orbital cannons