/sci/ - Science & Math

>>11256453
I've read rumors of another, currently existent suborbital E2E craft in the DOD's quiver that's not SS but is much smaller, able to be transported inside a C-5, and was possibly related to or descended from the Air-Launched Sortie Vehicle concept from the late 70s. If it indeed exists, it was almost certainly built in either the late 80s or the early 90s. I'd guess that it's operational profile is probably very similar to the USMC SUSTAIN concept from the 2000s.

>>11020259
Here's a render of the concept:

>>10978950
>Like >>10978787 # says, there are probably versions of the X37B, derivatives thereof, or completely unknown contemporaries that can serve as offensive space based weapons with either missile payloads or perhaps even some sort of laser.

Google the AWST article from the 2000s on the alleged "Blackstar" program. I'm not at all sure that they got it 100% right, but it's very likely that Blackstar or something similar to it flew. There's also talk that the USMC SUSTAIN concept may have lead to a functional article similar to the Air-Launched Sortie Vehicle concept. Musk wasn't the first guy to dream up using a sub-orbital vehicle for rapid point-to-point transport.

>Though I think the power required to run a laser is more than could be generated or stored on a platform that size.

Chemical laser with a small number of shots is probably what they'd go with.