Looks like we have a question from a fairly paranoid follower so let us indulge her and - "Ask ARSE"
"Hey ARSE I saw something about a secret drone in space that no one is allowed to know what it's doing. Do you know what it's doing? Why won't they tell us what it's doing? Cheers" - Tracey
Thank you for the question Tracey, the X-37B has been in the news as of late for breaking its previous record for continuous-time spent in orbit by two days at 719 days straight.
That's right, a drone has been flying around the globe unmanned for nearly two years. But why?
An interesting question indeed, but even more so because the mission is completely classified.
We know almost nothing of the specifics of the craft or its missions while in space.
Any information we do have is trickled to us by the Air Force, who attest the X-37B project is for America's emergent future in space and to house experiments that will then return to Earth.
The project was greenlighted in 1999 with the intention of creating a cheap, reusable drone in space before DARPA assumed control over the project in 2004.
If you're unsure why this is important, google DARPA.
In essence, DARPA is very military.
It is not a stretch of the imagination to assume that the drone is weaponised, equipped for reconnaissance/surveillance or all of the above.
A near-impossible question to answer, unfortunately, but stick with us and we will endeavour to relay any information we can as it happens.
#Space_Aus
