Conference 7.286::space

Article: 25976
From: [email protected] (Harm Munk)
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
Subject: Fireball over The Netherlands Wasn't
Date: 31 Aug 92 07:42:08 GMT
Sender: [email protected] (USENET News System)
Organization: Philips Research Laboratories Eindhoven, Netherlands
 
On Wednesday, August 19, seismic stations located in the northwestern
part of the Netherlands registered an atmospheric shock wave, which,
apparantly, was not related to any seismic activity. In the following
days, the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute (KNMI) in the
Netherlands investigated the matter and came to the conclusion that it
had probably been a meteor with a cross section of 30 cm which had
exploded over the town of Joure in Friesland (a Dutch province). 
 
[See previous postings on Fireball over NW Europe]
 
Later investigations by the KNMI and a group of astronomers showed
that the only possible explanation left is not a meteorite or space
junk, but some kind of supersonic, military airplane breaking the
sound barrier some ten miles west of the island of Texel. According to
the KNMI, this is the only explanation left allthough it is an
unsatisfactory one. 
 
Because it supposedly was a military airplane, the KNMI contacted the
military airbase Aurora in Scotland, but the spokesperson at Aurora
did not know of any observation of a supersonic, military aircraft
that evening. 
 
So, what was it? Rumours in the newspapers suggested that it was that
highly secretive airplane that Lockeed is developing for the DoD: the
two stage get to orbit plane (like DynaSoar and Saenger ?). Now, this
plane has been sighted in the US a few times. 
 
The supposed sighting in the Netherlands was accompanied not only by
sonic booms (energetic enough to crack the front of a house somewhere
in the province of Friesland) but some people reported seeing a flash
of light as well. Was this also the case with the sightings in the US?
 
And why would the DoD start testing a secret plane outside US territory?
 
And why was someone from Lockeed Space and Missiles Systems asking questions
on the net about this event (;-)?
 
+----------------------------------------+------------------------------------+
| Harm Munk                              | Building WAY 11                    |
| Philips Research Laboratories          | P.O. Box 80 000                    |
| Knowledge Based Systems                | 5600 JA  Eindhoven                 |
|                                        | The Netherlands                    |
| #include <standard.disclaimer>         | tel. +31 40 74 46 59               |
|                                        | email: [email protected]         |
+----------------------------------------+------------------------------------+

Article: 25978
From: [email protected] (Gerald Cecil)
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
Subject: Re: Fireball over The Netherlands Wasn't
Date: 31 Aug 92 13:36:51 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
 
In article 715246928@prles6b, [email protected] (Harm Munk) writes:

>On wednesday, August 19, seismic stations located in the northwestern part
>of the Netherlands registered an atmospheric shock wave, which, apparantly,
>was not related to any seismic activity .. but some kind
>of supersonic, military airplane breaking the sound barrier some ten
>miles west >of the island of Texel. According to the KNMI, this is the
>only explanation left 
>allthough it is an unsatisfactory one. ...
>The supposed sighting in the Netherlands was accompanied not only by sonic 
>booms (energetic enough to crack the front of a house somewhere in
>the province of 
>Friesland) but some people reported seeing a flash of light as well. Was this
>also the case with the sightings in the US?

They probably saw a low-flying military aircraft with its afterburners
on.  Maybe it punched through a low-lying cloud deck on its way out. 
 
>Rumours in the newspapers suggested that it was that highly
>secretive airplane that Lockeed is developing for the DoD: the two stage get
>to orbit plane (like DynaSoar and Saenger ?). Now, this plane has been sighted
>in the US a few times. ...

According to Aviation Week & Space Technology (aka AvLeak) in issues
prior to Aug. 24, this aircraft is an SR 71 replacement developed by
Lockheed Skunkworks.  Speeds estimated at 3500+ mph. *Not* a 2 stage
to orbit plane. It has only been seen near the ground dimly at night,
and was described as `bat-like'' similar to the B2 airfoil. People
report a low frequency, growling noise of tremendous power at takeoff.
Daytime photos of peculiar corkscrew contrails that have been
attributed to this aircraft suggest an ``explosive'' or pulsed
propulsion system, but the observers did not have binoculars to see
the plane itself (flying at high altitudes). 

AvLeak reports an increasing number of daytime sightings like this,
suggesting that the program is emerging from the so-called Black (i.e.
non-itemized) DoD budget into full Congressional scrutiny, presumably
because the DoD has now sunk so much money into it and distributed its
contractors into so many Congressional districts that the program is
unkillable. Yet another multi-billion dollar aerospace program to
protect US airspace from the Bosnian airforce. 
 
>And why was someone from Lockeed Space and Missiles Systems asking questions
>on the net about this event (;-)?

S/he was probably searching for a new job.
---
Gerald Cecil [email protected]  919-962-7169 
Physics & Astronomy, U of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3255 USA

Article: 48015
From: [email protected]
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Fireball over The Netherlands Wasn't
Date: 31 Aug 92 18:10:33 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: The World Bank
 
In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Alan Greig)
writes:

>In article <munk.715246928@prles6b>, [email protected] (Harm Munk) writes:
>> 
>> Because it supposedly was a military airplane, the KNMI contacted the
>> military
>> airbase Aurora in Scotland, but the spokesperson at Aurora did not know
>> of any observation of a supersonic, military aircraft that evening.
>
>Can't say I've ever heard of a military airbase called Aurora in Scotland.
>Sounds a very unlikely name for an RAF base in any case.
>-- 
>
>Alan Greig                            Janet: [email protected]
>Dundee Institute of Technology        Tel: (0382) 308810
>Scotland, UK
 
Aurora isn't an RAF base, it's the code name for a SR71 replacement.
It would appear (according to sci.military) that the new plane operates
out of a test facility out west (a'la U2/SR71), and uses Machrihanish
base in the U.K. as it's European base. More information on this can
be found on the sc.military newsgroup - although the information is
(understandbly) sparse and subject to interperatation. 

From:	DECWRL::"[email protected]" "Mark Flanagan" 4-SEP-1992 
        09:16:16.23
To:	[email protected]
CC:	[email protected]
Subj:	Re: 'Top Secret' spaceplane

Here is a copy of a recent post to sci.aeronautics which provides a good 
description of where to look up info on Aurora:

----- Begin Included Message -----

From: larry@pdx097 (Larry Smith)
Subject: Re: Please send me all known info on Aurora!!!!
Sender: [email protected] (News Account)
Organization: Intel Corp., Hillsboro, Oregon
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1992 01:06:45 GMT

Michael A. Kopack writes:
>From what has been said in this newsgroup lately, I have become rather
>intreigued with the Aurora. ...

OK Michael, since I haven't seen a response to your question yet, here
is one. 

Here are references to a number of AW&ST articles and other articles
that talk about 'Aurora'.

1.  The Dec. 18, 1989 issue. Pages 42-43. A VISTA issue. Talks about
    pulser sightings + Aurora. (First report of 'the pulser').

2.  The Oct. 1, 1990 issue. Pages 20-23. More detail about pulser
    sightings, and a vehicle that looks like the new (now cancelled)
    Navy A-12 seen working with F-117As in the Southwestern Test Ranges.
    There are some incredibly provocative hints in this article
    and the next about advanced aerospace technology.

3.  The Dec. 24, 1990 issue. Pages 41-44. A VISTA issue. Talks about a 
    Mach 8 vehicle (with drawings) that uses an external burning scramjet.

4.  Also check out the letter to the editor, on the last page of the
    AW&ST 1/8/90 issue,pg. 74.

5.  AW&ST 10/28/91 Pages 68-69. Article on Pulsed Detonation Engines (PDEs)

6.  AW&ST 3/9/92. Pages 66-67. An interesting possible 'Aurora' operations
    test at Beale AFB in the end of Feb. 92!

7.  AW&ST 7/6/92. More sightings of doughnuts on a rope contrails.

8.  AW&ST 7/20/92. Page 13. Article on another possible 'Aurora'
    propulsion mechanism - the 'impulse motor'.

There was also supposed to be a Bill Sweetman piece entitled: 
"The Aurora Enigma", to be published in the Nov., 90 issue of 
Interavia Aerospace Review.

There was a Bill Sweetman piece in Janes Defense Weekly, 2/28/92, pg 333
entitled "Mystery Contact May Be Aurora".

There was also the most recent piece from the London "Sunday Telegraph"
dated 7/26/92 entitled: "Secret US Spy Plane Is Kintyre's Dark Visitor".

I have not included the articles in AW&ST or other publications that
reported the sonic booms, and I may have missed some of the AW&ST
'Aurora' articles, but the above is a fairly adequate list.

If you have trouble finding these, some of them are in the skunk.works
mail list archives.

[good discussion of pulsed detonation engines deleted]

"DOUGHNUTS ON A ROPE" contrails produced by unknown high-speed, 
high-altitude aircraft may be the result of a Pratt & Whitney
powerplant program aimed at developing what the company calls
an "impulse motor".  The engine is believed to be a combined
cycle powerplant that integrates conventional gas turbine and
rocket technologies.  Such a powerplant would be capable of
operating from a ground takeoff up to speeds approaching Mach 6.

The unusual contrail could be the result of running the powerplant
off its narrow design point, according to U.S. propulsion experts.
Officials have suggested that in the past, impulse engines have
been located at Edwards AFB, Calif., and at government facilities
at White Sands, N.M.

Any Questions?  :)

Larry Smith

----- End Included Message -----

From what I have heard, the near-miss was not Aurora, as it did not seem to 
be a pulsed detonation engine (PDE).  Perhaps something else (Stealth spotter
used in Desert Storm, can't find the AvWeek ref.)

Mark

From:	DECWRL::"ACTIV-L%[email protected]" "Activists Mailing 
        List"  3-SEP-1992 20:37:45.11
To:	Multiple recipients of list ACTIV-L 
        <ACTIV-L%[email protected]>
CC:	
Subj:	News: UFO in Holland believed to be U.S. spy plane.

UFO in Holland believed to be U.S. spy plane.

On a summer night on August 19, 1992, an unexplained phenomenon
occured in the northern part of the Netherlands which produced a
severe sound blast and meteor-like light effects without leaving any
debris. Experts claim these effects can only be caused by some unknown
aircraft flying at extremely high speed. According to recent
publications in Aviation Week & Space Technology such a plane does
exist. The Dutch experts believe this American spy plane is stationed
in Scotland. On its flight on August 19, it has probably made a sharp
turn off the Dutch coast, thereby sending a sound blast over the
mainland. U.S. authorities have denied knowledge of any U.S. aircraft
that could have caused the effects. 

The Paris-based bulletin Intelligence Newsletter carried the following
report in its August 27, 1992 issue: 

Hypersonic "Aurora" operational

In October 1990 IN mentioned sightings in California and Nevada of a
"flying triangle" which makes a "pulsing roar". It as believed to be
the result of Lockheed's Mach 7-8 "Transatmospheric Vehicle" (TAV)
proposed in the mid-1980s as a replacement for the SR-71 Blackbird
Mach 3 spy plane retired in early 1990. Now called "Aurora", this
aircraft's contrail and sonic boom have been observed and reported
several times this year and enough information is now available to
piece together a description of the revolutionary "impulse motor"
propulsion system powering this aircraft. 

It's a "hybrid" system probably resulting from a Pratt & Whitney
secret program incorporating a conventional gas turbine or normal
high-speed (Mach 1-3) jet engine with a form of rocket propulsion
probably involving external ignition of either hydrogene or methane
gas. Stored on board in liquid form, the gas is released from the
aircraft and probably ignited intermittently by pulse detonations. The
"pulsing roar" and "doughnuts on a rope" contrail are a combined
result of the high-power jet engine and the pulse detonation wave
engine. According to our information, the pulse detonations do not
furnish thrust in the normal sense but "counteract" the low pressure
zone created in the wash of the aircraft at speeds around Mach 3. By
"counter-acting" or "filling" this low pressure zone, drag is
dramatically reduced and thrust from the normal jet engines boost
Aurora over the Mach 3 "hump" to speeds of over Mach 6, much faster
than any existing missile. 

Publicly recognized tests are currently being conducted on a
hypersonic (above Mach 5) "X-30" experimental aircraft with this same
technology. That Lockheed, producer of the SR-71 and the U-2 spy
planes, is responsible for the Aurora seems certain according to
financial analysts Kemper Securities which note that the firm's work
force and budget can only be accounted for by one or more substantial
"black" programs funded by the Pentagon. According to British press
reports, Aurora "carries high-powered cameras and infra-red radar", 
is "as big as Concorde", and can circle the Earth in eight hours
producing surveillance intelligence from anywhere in the world on
short notice. 

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: Gert van Velzen <[email protected]>
% Subject:      News: UFO in Holland believed to be U.S. spy plane.

Wow. (I want a ride 8^)

Article: 1478
From: [email protected] (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.news.military,clari.news.aviation,clari.tw.aerospace
Subject: Report: Lockheed has built secret spy plane
Date: Fri, 4 Dec 92 13:55:29 PST
 
	LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- Lockheed Corp. has built a secret spy
plane capable of cruising as fast as eight times the speed of sound, a
representative of a British defense trade publication said Friday. 

	The wedged-shaped plane, dubbed Aurora and carrying a price
tag of $1 billion, may have been flying since 1985 and may be the
source of a series of earthquake-like rumbles that have been occuring
for more than a year in California, according to an article due to be
released next week in Jane's Defence Weekly. 

	The article, authored by Bill Sweetman, calls its findings a 
``tentative analysis.''

	Richard Stadler, a spokesman at Lockheed's Aeronautical
Systems unit in Southern California, declined comment on the article
and said he could neither confirm nor deny the existence of the plane.

	Mark Lambert, editor of Jane's, said that the article is based
in part on an interview with an oil worker who, while a member of the
British volunteer aircraft spotter organization Royal Observer Corps,
claimed he saw a strange triangular shape fly over a remote part of
the North Sea three years ago, escorted by a U.S. KC-135 tanker and
two U.S. F-111 bombers. 

	Lambert said the worker, Chris Gibson, later saw a rendering
of the Aurora in a magazine and recognized it as the one he saw three
years ago. 

	``There is a whole lot of contributary evidence to suggest its
existence,'' Lambert said. 

	Lambert said Lockheed's Advanced Development Co., nicknamed
the Skunkworks and located in Palmdale adjacent to Edwards Air Force
Base in the Mojave Desert, is the most likely prime contractor of the
Aurora. 

	The unit developed the last two U.S. spy planes, the U-2 and
the SR- 71 Blackbird, along with the F-117, a first-generation stealth
fighter used in the Persian Gulf War. 

	All three planes flew secretly before Lockheed acknowledged
their existence.  In the case of the U-2, its existence became known in
1960 only when the Soviets shot down one piloted by Francis Gary Powers. 

	The United States retired its last SR-71, nicknamed the
Blackbird, in 1990 and said at the time that it would rely on
satellites for reconnaissance instead. The SR-71 holds the official
speed record of 2,193 miles per hour, or 3.3 times the speed of
sound, but that would be less than half than the estimated speed of
``Mach 8,'' or 5,280 miles per hour, for the Aurora. 

	The Jane's article, which was reported in Friday's Wall Street
Journal, said that supersonic aircraft have capabilities lacking in
obiting satellites, which may need up to 24 hours to produce the image
of a requested site. An aircraft with Mach 8 capabilities can reach
any point on the globe in under three hours and fly closer to the
target than a satellite, it noted. 

	Aerospace experts quoted in the article also said that such a
plane could be powered by liquid methane. 

	The article said Rockwell International Corp.'s Rocketdyne
division, headquartered in the Santa Susana Mountains north of Los
Angeles, is the likely builder of the Aurora's engines. Lockheed and
Rockwell worked together on a losing bid to build the plane that
eventually became Northrop Corp.'s bat-shaped B-2 stealth bomber. 

	Rockwell has admitted it performs work on classified aerospace
programs, but has declined further comment. The article noted that the
name ``Aurora'' first appeared in 1984 as a defense budget line item
next to the SR-71. 

	On several occasions over the past year, California residents
have reported feeling what seemed to be small earthquakes, but
representatives of the U.S. Geological Survey have said in response no
earthquake was responsible and that a supersonic aircraft was the
likely source. 

Article: 14215
From: [email protected] (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.news.lifestyle,clari.news.military,clari.local.illinois
Subject: Model of newest U.S. spy plane unveiled
Date: Sun, 7 Nov 93 15:06:37 EST
 
	CHICAGO (UPI) -- America's newest spy plane is apparently not
spy-proof. 

	Engineers and aviation buffs pooled bits of information about
the a new Air Force spy plane reportedly in the works, and have come
up with hobby-sized model they say looks just like the real thing. The
model was on display this weekend at the Chicago Model and Hobby Show.

	If they're right, the new plane, now known only by the code
project name ``Aurora'', is 160 feet long, has a 97-foot wing span, is
powered by four huge turbo jets and would be capable of flying at
speeds up to Mach 3.5. Rockford-based Testor Corp. calls its model of
the plane ``SR- 75 Penetrator.'' 

	They say the plane will also have a smaller companion craft,
capable of hypersonic speeds up to Mach 7. 

	Testor's product designer John Andrews is a contributor to the
Armed Forces Journal and is an expert in reconnaissance drones and Air
Force crafts. He based his SR-75 Penetrator designs on public
government information, his own engineering experience and some
technological guesswork. He also got tips from aviation fans who
claimed to have seen the top secret craft on test flights. 

	The most detailed and reliable report came from a British oil
driling engineer and trained aircraft spotter, who drew a sketch of
the plane as he watched it from a North Sea oil rig. Others say they
have heard loud puslating noises and sonic booms coming from the craft. 

	The mystery craft is believed to be the replacement for the
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane. The Air Force, however, denies it
is working on any ``Aurora'' project. 

	Testor displayed its interpretation of the confidential craft at 
the 9th Annual Chicago Model and Hobby Show in Rosemont, Ill., this weekend. 

Article: 15668
From: [email protected] (AP)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.defense,clari.news.military,clari.news.gov.usa
Subject: USAF May Have A New Stealth
Date: Wed, 23 Feb 94 11:20:32 PST
 
	LONDON (AP) -- The U.S. Air Force apparently has developed a
new stealth aircraft capable of spying or bombing, an authoritative
British defense journal reported Wednesday. 

	Jane's International Defense Review published a drawing of the
diamond-shaped plane, which strongly resembles a smaller version of
the B-2 stealth bomber.

	The unidentified aircraft has been seen in flight in several
places across the southwestern United States and was captured on
two videotapes, one made near Groom Lake Air Force Base in Nevada,
the magazine said in its March issue.

	The Air Force ``is not in a position to comment on the story,
one way or another,'' according to spokesman, Col. Doug Kennet, in
Washington.

	American aviation writer Bill Sweetman, who wrote the report,
said he believes the plane is a superior, all-weather successor to
the F-117 stealth fighter, the world's first radar-evading warplane.

	The new aircraft flies at medium or low altitude at over 500
mph, said Clifford Beal, the magazine's features editor who viewed
the videotapes.

	The F-117, conceived in 1978 and first tested in 1981, was the
only aircraft to attack heavily defended Baghdad during the Gulf
War in 1991. The $46 million jets destroyed more than 40 percent of
their targets, and were never hit by Iraqi fire.

	The F-117 was put into service so quickly that some features of
conventional fighters were omitted.

	``Compared with the F-117, the new aircraft would have greater
range, all-weather sensors, greater weapons capacity'' and perhaps
new measures to frustrate advanced radars, Sweetman said.

	``The F-117 does not have any ability to hit targets that are
covered by cloud. This aircraft could very likely do that,'' he
said in an interview.

	The sketch is based on the assumption that the single-seat,
twin-engine aircraft has a wingspan of about 66 feet and is no less
than 40 feet at the center line. It probably weighs just over 30
tons fully loaded and could be powered by two General Electric F404
engines, Sweetman said.

	He said the U.S. Air Force acquired 250 F404 engines during the
F-117 program. Since 59 F-117s were built, there would be enough
extra engines for between 35 and 40 twin-engined aircraft, leaving
a 20 percent allowance for spares, he said.

	Observers first assumed the aircraft was designed for
reconnaissance, but other sources have identified it as an attack
aircraft, Sweetman said.

	He said it could be both -- an attractive proposition when costs
are rising and Pentagon budgets are shrinking.

	Jane's has known about the plane for over a year but waited for
``a sufficient body of evidence'' before publishing, said Beal, the editor.

	In addition to the videotapes and eyewitness reports, Beal said
there is a continuing Air Force requirement for stealth aircraft,
which have become essential to modern warfare.

	No more F-117s are being built and only 20 B-2 bombers have been
authorized.

	``The F-117 was always designed as an interim aircraft and it
shows.  The stealth science has gone much further than the F-117,''
Beal said.

	``After the Gulf War, Congress asked the Air Force if they
wanted more F-117s because of their success rate, but the Air Force
did not request additional F-117s. They were obviously reluctant to
build more F-117s, when they could do better,'' he said.

	``These are all threads, but if you put them together it makes 
a strong case that there is a follow-on that they are testing.''

	Earlier this month, CIA Director R. James Woolsey denied the
United States is building a new high-speed, high-altitude spy plane
to replace the SR-71 Blackbird.  But he did not specifically deny
that a new generation spy plane was being developed.

Article: 15670
From: [email protected] (Reuters)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.defense,clari.news.military,clari.news.gov.usa
Subject: U.S. Develpoping New Stealth Aircraft - Journal
Date: Wed, 23 Feb 94 10:20:30 PST
 
	 LONDON (Reuter) - The United States is developing a
sophisticated new stealth aircraft for spying and bombing, a leading
British defense journal said Wednesday. 

	 Jane's International Defense Review said the diamond-shaped
plane had been spotted on flights over the southwestern United States
and recorded on videotape. 

	 ``It would be capable of gathering intelligence as well as
finding targets,'' Jane's said of the plane, estimating it weighed
more than 30 tons fully loaded and had a wingspan of about 65 feet. 

	 U.S. aviation writer Bill Sweetman said the plane would be
the successor to the F-117 stealth fighter, which was used to attack
Baghdad during the 1991 Gulf War and successfully avoided all Iraqi fire. 

	 ``Compared with the F-117, the new aircraft would have
greater range, all-weather sensors and greater weapon capacity,''
Sweetman wrote in the magazine's March issue. 

	 He said the new aircraft, being tested secretly under a
so-called ``black program,'' strongly resembled a smaller version of
the B-2 bomber.