PLN 27

What matters in the world today is a shuttle launch preformed by the Air Force on April 21. The X-37-B was sent on a nine month unmanned orbital test mission and will be landing in California on an undisclosed date. This is a follow up to my previous post, PLN 19, about Obama canceling manned space flight and how the Air Forces X-37-B could be a hope for continued missions. Yet, president Obama just recently gave $6billion to NASA to develop a deep space manned space craft, which makes me wonder what the Air Force will use the X-37-B for. With the nine month capability and possible manned crews, I believe that it will be used as an intelligence gathering ship. It could easily be upgraded with equipment that can read satellite messages and pictures. This would allow for quicker review of information, which will lead to quicker action if necessary. This would be a great improvement to the defense of our nation. For example, if a nuclear war head were launched at the United States, satellites could pick it up, quickly relay the message to the X-37-B, who could then alert the Air Force, which could take the necessary action. This is just my personal hypothesis of what the Air Fore will use the X-37-B for, but it seems like the best logical use of the craft at this time.