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Classified space planes, NASA’s Space Shuttle and today in space history on this Spacevidcast daily for April 26th, 2010.

While NASA’s Space Shuttle fleet only has 3 missions remaining, a new space shuttle is arriving on the scene. The Air Force is testing their all new and classified X-37B Space Plane. Of course there are a few key differences between the X-37B and NASA’s Space Shuttle. For one, the X-37B can’t carry any passengers. This is a robotic only vehicle. And since passengers are not required, the size of the vehicle is quite a bit smaller than the space shuttle. So small that it can fi,t as the primary payload on an Atlas 5 rocket. And that’s exactly what the Air Force did. On Thursday, April 22nd at 2352 UTC an Atlas 5 rocket carried the X-37B in to space to begin testing of this new and secretive vehicle. They will be demonstrating and validating the guidance, navigation and control systems which includes an autonomous re-renty and landing at California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, much like the X-40 free flight test shown here.

Speaking of shuttles, Orbital Vehicle 104 or better known as Space Shuttle Atlantis has rolled out to launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center this last Wednesday. Atlantis is prepping for her final flight of STS-132 currently slated for May 14th, 2010 although the vehicle won’t be fully retired after this mission. Atlantis will be used as a standby vehicle for STS-335 which is the Launch On Need mission for the final space shuttle flight ever. If Space Shuttle Discovery encounters problems on STS-133 and a rescue mission is needed, NASA will call on Atlantis to bring the crew home safely. Since the inception of the Launch On Need missions with STS-114, NASA has never needed to fly a STS-300 series rescue mission. Chances are, STS-132 will be the last time Space Shuttle Atlantis will see space. But what better shuttle to have as a backup for the end of the Space Shuttle era than Atlantis.

17 years ago today Space Shuttle Columbia launched for mission STS-55 from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Columbia was originally supposed to launch in late Feburary but this date slipped due to possible issues with the space shuttle main engine oxidizer turbo-pumps. All three turbo-pumps were replaced at the pad, but then Columbia saw further delays when a hydrolic flex hose burst in the aft compartment during a flight readiness test. The lines were removed, inspected and three replacements were installed. A launch attempt on March 22nd further delayed Columbia as the launch was aborted at T-3 seconds when computers detected an incomplete ignition of the number three space shuttle main engine. Finally on April 26th, 1993 Space Shuttle Columbia launched for her Spacelab mission involving 88 different experiments.

And don’t forget to join us this Friday at 0200 UTC for Spacevidcast Live. This week we will have on guest Bill Suitor who is the author of the Rocketbelt Pilot’s Manual. This is your chance to ask someone who has actually flown a rocketbelt, your very own questions. For those of you in the US the show will be this Thursday at 7:00pm PDT or 10:00pm EDT. Remember to pick up your copy of the Rocketbelt Pilot’s Manual from Apogeebooks.com before the show and we’ll see you there!