Ahh...It's more advanced than we thought.
The Strat has a stealth "cloaking device"!
[No wonder the Russians are interested!]
Seriously, thanks, imawswami, although I don't know what to make of it.
Crazy theory #1:
"The Stratellite is already in the stratosphere."
Unlikely. Preliminary tests would have to be done first, which I presume would have been sighted.
Secondly, although near, the hanger is not in Edwards airspace, and I presume transporting to Edwards could not be accomplished without drawing notice.
Crazy theory #2:
"The Stratellite is being assembled somewhere else, perhaps another country, and will be launched from there as well."
Unlikely. From 1/18/2006 update:
"Flight schedules over Edwards Air Force Base will be provided after Edward's Test Range approves Sanswire II for flight." Also, we are paying for hanger space.
But playing devil's advocate for a bit...
If GlobeTel wants to conduct tests in secret, I could understand some motive in being deceptive about where the tests will take place. And the partition in the hanger would cleverly disguise the absence of the Strat.
But I just can't buy that secrecy is that important. I would hope that they have enough confidence in the Strat so that even if the launch is not exactly public, it is not shrouded in secrecy, either. And I wouldn't think that proprietary issues would explain that degree of secrecy, either. I presume that the truly proprietary elements wouldn't be visible on the completed Strat.
With regard to the last point, perhaps I am being too naive. Perhaps sophisticated sensors could give competitors some insight into proprietary technologies. Hmm... So I won't rule out Crazy theory #2 completely, but it still seems unlikely to me - the implied deception seems too elaborate.
[To anyone still reading - sorry for the long post - but it was fun to think about.]
- guy6
AI
