New Spaceplane Goes into Orbit

I'm going to be sitting at my desk Monday morning with four computers surrounding me in an attempt to buy space shuttle launch viewing tickets for the mission going up May 14.  This is one of the last shuttle missions, so if I miss this one, I really won't have another chance.

As I mentioned last week, the U.S. space program is going through some big changes, what with the cancellation of the Constellation project, and a call for NASA to work with private industry to come up with replacements for the space shuttles that stop flying this year.

But the government has already spent a lot of money on a potential shuttle replacement that launched into orbit Thursday.

This "mystery plane" the U.S. Air Force sent into space is the X-37B, a project that NASA started in 1999 and then gave to the U.S. Department of Defense in 2004.  While considerably smaller than the current shuttle, and unmanned, it seems the proper design elements are all there.

So why can't NASA simply partner with the military and have the Air Force send supplies to the International Space Station?  Couldn't they take this basic design and have it modified to carry a few people if need be?  Why start from scratch?

The Soviet Union's very successful space program (of which the Soyuz spacecraft that are still in use were a product) was entirely a military operation.  And while the U.S. model for space exploration and exploitation is not much like the Soviet's, military contractors and sub-contractors provide private citizens with jobs as well as anybody.  Plus, they are a bit ahead of the development curve in terms of technology development, seeing as they have already sent one of these babies up.

Certainly the government, NASA, and the military can figure out a way to keep moving forward without having to go all the way back to the drawing board.  It would be a win-win situation for everyone.