ABC News: Did the Pentagon Try to Develope a Secret 'Spaceplane'?

ABC News: Did the Pentagon Try to Develope a Secret 'Spaceplane'?

Did the Pentagon Try to Develope a Secret 'Spaceplane'?
Air Force and NASA Reportedly Worked on 'Blackstar' Project

March 10, 2006 -- - It sounds like something out of a science-fiction movie: an aircraft that can orbit around Earth and spy or swoop down on unsuspecting enemies from the heavens.

But according to the industry trade magazine Aviation Week & Space Technology, the U.S. government attempted to develop such a craft in secret but eventually canceled the program, either for budgetary or operational reasons.

Bill Scott, who wrote the article, said the craft -- nicknamed "Blackstar," "Black Magic" and "Speedy" -- was actually made up of two separate vehicles.

"I call it a two-staged orbit system, because the two aircraft have to work together," Scott said.

A carrier craft called the SR-3 would carry a smaller "spaceplane" on its underbelly into the atmosphere while moving at supersonic speeds.

Once at the right altitude, the smaller orbiter would be deployed, fire its rockets and blast into space.

Blackstar Details Reported But No Confirmation
Scott said he had recently learned from an "extremely good source who was briefed on the program" that the small orbiter craft was named XOV, which stood for experimental orbital vehicle.

The vehicle would have likely been used primarily for reconnaissance, operating as kind of a manned satellite.

"The manned orbiter's primary military advantage would be surprise overflight," according to Aviation Week & Space Technology's article. "There would be no forewarning of its presence prior to the first orbit, allowing ground targets to be imaged before they could be hidden. In contrast, satellite orbits are predictable enough that activities having intelligence value can be scheduled to avoid overflights."

While in orbit, the craft could also carry and drop a suite of high-tech sensors capable of acquiring detailed images of ground targets.

Scott said the program was started in the 1980s, just as NASA experienced difficulties with the space shuttle.

As the Air Force realized it needed quick and safe access to space, Blackstar was born.

Many aviation experts held doubts about the existence of the program, however, and no one from the Air Force or NASA was immediately available to comment on the article.

Though his sources told him the program had been canceled, Scott expected the Air Force and NASA would revisit it one day.

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