What's This?

It's pulling a contrail, which indicates it's flying somewhere between 31
and 45 thousand feet....Maybe a little lower or higher, depending on the
day..

Not a cruise missile, which operates down on the deck. No contrail.

OL

The picture was taken from a Satelite at an alt of around 350 miles I
would guess. It is obvious that there are fins aft and stubs at the
mid body. I doubt that we are seeing a contrail, I think we are seeing
exhaust from one or two rocket motors. The stubs at the mid body could
be un deployed wings.
IMHO it is either a cruise missile after launch, but prior to air
start of the air breathing engine, in other words prior to burn out of
the first stage solid rocket motor. Or it is a lifting body type
aircraft like the old X15. I think the former is more likely than the
latter.

On Mon, 5 Mar 2007 16:15:03 -0000, "NoJags Neil"
wrote:

Attached file should open into Google Earth, if you have it installed.

It's tagged as a cruise missile but the "wings" look a little too short.
It's flying in an apparently straight line across Utah, USA.

--

Jim in Houston
osPAm
Nurse's creed: Fill what's empty, empty what's full,
and scratch where it itches!! RN does NOT mean Real Nerd!

If you look at the mid section of the aircraft, you can see two dark, swept
wings continuing out from the "stubs". From the distance of the photo, the
dark color doesn't seem to stand out from the background like the white
painted fuselage.
Rob

"Jim" wrote in message
...
The picture was taken from a Satelite at an alt of around 350 miles I
would guess. It is obvious that there are fins aft and stubs at the
mid body. I doubt that we are seeing a contrail, I think we are seeing
exhaust from one or two rocket motors. The stubs at the mid body could
be un deployed wings.
IMHO it is either a cruise missile after launch, but prior to air
start of the air breathing engine, in other words prior to burn out of
the first stage solid rocket motor. Or it is a lifting body type
aircraft like the old X15. I think the former is more likely than the
latter.

On Mon, 5 Mar 2007 16:15:03 -0000, "NoJags Neil"
wrote:

Attached file should open into Google Earth, if you have it installed.

It's tagged as a cruise missile but the "wings" look a little too short.
It's flying in an apparently straight line across Utah, USA.

--

Jim in Houston
osPAm
Nurse's creed: Fill what's empty, empty what's full,
and scratch where it itches!! RN does NOT mean Real Nerd!

"NoJags Neil" wrote:

Attached file should open into Google Earth, if you have it installed.

It's tagged as a cruise missile but the "wings" look a little too short.
It's flying in an apparently straight line across Utah, USA.

Bear in mind that the image is probably distorted by the aircraft's
motion. It's travelling on a nearly north/south line, which just about
parallels the orbital track of most landsats. That may have stretched
the fuselage image.

--Bill Thompson