Space Shuttle
Photo Source: Clipart.com

There have been many stories over the years of a secret space plane that the U.S. was either testing or had perfected. Those of you that are regular readers on this site may have noticed that I have mentioned the fact, maybe too many times, that I believed that the U.S. Air Force had a secret space program that was much more advanced than the civilian one. In line with this I would like to mention that an article appeared in March of this year in Aviation Week & Space Technology that dealt with an advanced space plane.

The article was titled "Spaceplane Shelved?". Apparently some top Pentagon officials have admitted to this plane's existence. As usual, the admitting parties remain anonymous. The project is said to be called Blackstar and it is also said that it is going to be shelved, to use the exact words. When I first heard this, it reminded me of the Blackbird, which was also known as the SR-71. It was the world's fastest plane and yet, it too was shelved after a nice service life. The point is that the Blackbird was still said to be the fastest and highest flying plane in the world when we stopped using it. No country would do that unless they had something better. I believe that is where the Aurora came in. The Aurora is said to be a plane that can fly into orbit and some say, reach the moon. Why would the Blackstar, notice the similar name to the Blackbird, be shelved after 15 years unless something better came along?

By the way, let me mention the fact that it is said that this vehicle flew from Groom Lake, a location that many claim is housing ufos and maybe even live aliens. In case you never heard of Groom Lake, it is part of Area 51, the secret base where signs are posted that state that if certain points are passed, deadly force can be used. It is also the place where workers are taken to, that have their eyes shielded. You can't get much more secret than that. The base is so secret that when some workers began to get ill, the government didn't have to disclose in court, if toxic waste was on the base or not.

It is said that this space plane was designed in the 1980s, that means that this vehicle has been around for awhile and was slow in reaching readiness. The magazine decided to release everything it knows about the suspected space plane since it is confident that the project is going by the boards. We will finally get some reliable information on Blackstar.

It is believed that Blackstar may have become operational in the 1990s, that means that this plane may have been flying around for almost 16 years and become obsolete before we even found out about it. It is said that the orbital part of the space plane is launched from a huge jet plane resembling a jet bomber. the Blackstar can go orbital or sub orbital. So why did this country want this vehicle, we have satellites don't we? Yes we do, but satellite orbits are predictable and targets can be hidden on their approach. This craft would be unexpected as it orbited it's first orbit and could detect many targets that would normally be hidden from view. The orbiter could also be used as an anti satellite weapon and could launch small satellites of it's own. There is a new type of weapons system that is said to be perfect for launching from this orbiter and that is a kinetic energy weapon. These weapons carry no warheads but the force of impact makes them deadly. They can reach the deepest of underground bunkers. This might be the reason that the U.S. has given up on the nuclear bunker buster, it just wasn't necessary.

There have been many sightings of the carrier and orbiter in the U.S. but only once have they been seen together. The magazine suggests that project Blackstar is the reason that the SR-71 Blackbird program was killed but I don't buy this. I still think there is something better out there, but this is only my opinion. It is suggested that the ability to fly into low orbit may have existed since the 1950's. I guess we will never really know what the heck is really going on. I can understand the need for secrecy in weaponry, but I just hate not to know, that is my curse. The article goes on further to state that the U.S. was in a panic mode after the shuttle disasters and felt it needed assured access to space and hence the development of Blackstar. Blackstar may also be known as Sr-3/XOV.

The orbital carrier is said to be able to fly at 90,000 feet and travel at supersonic speeds. The orbiter itself is reported to be about 98 feet long with blended wings and body. It may have aerospike engines. The body is made of advanced composite materials. A new fuel was developed for it that is a gel and as thick as tooth paste.

So how could a fleet of these planes be built without showing up in the budget, they were very expensive? Those that know state that the money was taken out of other very well funded programs. I guess that the next time we see that a fighter is costing $50,000,000 and 600 are ordered we will have to ask, "how much did it really cost?"

Now that the space plane is disappearing without us ever seeing it, we just have to ask that question, what is replacing it?

I would be remiss if I didn't let you know that The Space Review stated ".....Aviation Week also has a well-deserved reputation for publishing poorly-researched articles about top secret aircraft programs that do not exist..." For the rest of their article go to
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/576/1