' Wrote:" I believe the Russians already put weapons in space, a 20mm Autocannon or something similar which was used to destroy some redundant satellites. Not as a definite exercise, but more as a test to see if it could be done. "
Any proof for that? UN announced military usage of space is banned, and most countries of the world signed agreement. If something is going on... Look: from one side, we have countries of EU and Northern America, from other Russia, China, some Arab states (e.g. Syria, Iran), maybe India... Sounds like Alliance and Coalition...
Tried looking for non wiki sources, but only found mentions elsewhere. It was the Salyut 3 which carried a 23mm machine gun. It wasnt really for military use in the true sense of the word, rather to see if it could be done. It was only tested when cosmonauts were not present on the station for fear of the recoil damaging the station; not only that, the recoil would have sent the station careening off in the opposite direction supposedly.
All this was during the cold war however, before treaties on the militarisation of space had been completely ratified.
" I'm sure that someone has already thought of a way that it could be used by the military, but I hope it never happens. " and
" Have just thought of another thing.... the US government wants to go to the Moon again and this time hang around for a while.
Maybe they will use this new 'spaceplane' to take supplies to the Moon, offload them somehow (and that will be a good trick in itself) in order to make a 'supply dump' for when people next visit. "
100 years ago, in Libya, Italian Army used for the 1st time newly developed planes as war machines. They were used as scouts, and ( not proofed ) to bomb Turkish troops. Today we are entering into age of not only state-sponsored space colonization, but also little spacecrafts built by private companies.
When Europeans started to colonise other continents in XV and XVI century, wars followed them. For the first decades of colonisation, until there was plenty land to annex for Spain, Portugal, France or England, there was no wars. When one nation find out other have strategic advance ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lawrence_River ), better land or acces to rare resources, war started.
" Us humans can do anything if we just work at it long enough...... "
[color=#FFFFFF]Jesus that ain't mysterious by miles...The fact that it's military doesn't mean it's got lasers and nukes and other mumbo jumbo. [/color]
A Year Later, Mysterious Space Plane Is Still in Orbit
The Air Force's secretive X-37B space plane gets more mysterious by the day. Designed to spend up to nine months on unspecified errands in Earth's orbit, the second copy of the Boeing-made craft, known as Orbital Test Vehicle 2, has now been in space for a year and two days ' and is still going strong. The endurance milestone is unqualified good news for America's space force at a time when its funding and future missions are in doubt.
There's just one thing. We still don't know exactly what the 30-foot-long X-37B is doing up there.
Since the launch of Orbital Test Vehicle 1 in April 2010, the Air Force has insisted that the X-37 program is a purely scientific endeavor. But analysts say the spacefaring craft, which launches into orbit atop a rocket but glides back to Earth like an airplane, is capable of much more than that. It could be an orbital spy ' in essence, a more maneuverable satellite. Or it could be used to tamper with enemy satellites.
With its pickup-truck-size payload bay, the estimated billion-dollar craft could even haul small batches of supplies to the International Space Station. In October, Boeing program manager Art Grantz proposed to build an enlarged X-37C model that could also carry astronauts to the station, filling a gap left by the retired NASA Space Shuttle.
Though unlikely, the X-37B could even function as an orbital bomber. 'You could stick munitions in there,' said Eric Sterner, an analyst with the Marshall Institute, 'provided they exist.'
The latest rumor has the Air Force extending OTV-2′s time in orbit in order to perform close passes on the new Chinese space station, which has been in orbit since September but does yet have astronauts on board. Some analysts have noted that the X-37′s path nearly intersects with that of the Tiangong station. Others point out that the two spacecraft would pass each other at thousands of meters per second, making useful surveillance impossible. 'If the U.S. really wanted to observe Tiangong, it has enough assets to do that without using X-37B,' Brian Weeden from the Secure World Foundation told the BBC.
In any event, the space plane's impressive endurance can only boost the Air Force's space credentials at a critical moment in U.S. orbital capabilities. The Obama administration's proposed 2013-2017 budget plan cuts satellites and rockets, and entirely eliminates the office that oversaw the X-37′s development. Meanwhile, Boeing is preparing to shut down its 'Building 31″ facility in California, where the X-37s were assembled.
Insiders believe the space plane will safely maneuver into a new line of funding, preserving it even as other space systems wither away. All the same, the Air Force has a strong incentive to demonstrate its space prowess in order to stave off deeper cuts. 'We should not be surprised if the Air Force is pushing the envelope,' Weeden tells Danger Room.
The X-37′s efficient design means its performance limits could be farther out than even the most fervent space boosters anticipate. Deftly combining the vehicle's solar panels and rocket-fuel reserves, Air Force and Boeing operators have refined the space plane's operations to an art. 'It sips fuel like a Prius,' one space insider boasts. 'It could be on station into April for all I know.'
" Though unlikely, the X-37B could even function as an orbital bomber. 'You could stick munitions in there,' said Eric Sterner, an analyst with the Marshall Institute, 'provided they exist.' "
" The latest rumor has the Air Force extending OTV-2′s time in orbit in order to perform close passes on the new Chinese space station, which has been in orbit since September but does yet have astronauts on board. Some analysts have noted that the X-37′s path nearly intersects with that of the Tiangong station. Others point out that the two spacecraft would pass each other at thousands of meters per second, making useful surveillance impossible. "
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' Wrote:When Europeans started to colonise other continents in XV and XVI century, wars followed them. For the first decades of colonisation, until there was plenty land to annex for Spain, Portugal, France or England, there was no wars. When one nation find out other have strategic advance ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lawrence_River ), better land or acces to rare resources, war started.
War isn't a feature that introduced from one area. Different cultures have always fought each other, all over the planet. Dunno what Europe specifically's got to do with it, other than the fact that we spent quite a few millennia being horrible, horrible dicks to one another and finding new and inventive ways to kill each other.
Same as what's happened everywhere else on Earth, really. God, that's a depressing thought.
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