Or 'seriously they already know about it and pretending it's a secret is a touch on the retarded side of things'.

Wow! Remote piloting has come a long way since 9/11.

se·cret/ˈsēkrit/
Adjective:
Not known or seen or not meant to be known or seen by others: "a secret plan".
Noun:
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others: "a state secret".
Synonyms:
adjective. hidden - occult - privy - private - clandestine
noun. mystery - secrecy - arcanum - confidence

inigo_montoya.jpg

The secret is in what it's been up to for the better part of a year and a half on a mission that's been almost double the expected duration.

She's been a busy girl.

way south: The secret is in what it's been up to for the better part of a year and a half on a mission that's been almost double the expected duration.

She's been a busy girl.

Sure, but that doesn't prevent the reporter from talking about the craft itself like it just had the cover taken off for the first time yesterday.

As a mainframer, whenever I see 37B I think "space abend."

grinding_journalist: way south: The secret is in what it's been up to for the better part of a year and a half on a mission that's been almost double the expected duration.

She's been a busy girl.

Sure, but that doesn't prevent the reporter from talking about the craft itself like it just had the cover taken off for the first time yesterday.

To a lot of reporters, they may as well have just unveiled it.

This is what the wrench turning side of space looks like. Regular missions, mundane tasks, quiet landings and number crunching. No one pays it any mind.
Then the shuttle retires and suddenly there's a vacuum of engineering excellence to write about.

Out of the sky blasts this little thing, all photogenic and sensibly designed. Where did it come from, what's it been doing?

A little media feeding frenzy should be expected.
Doesn't help when the airforce guys hitch the thing up and drive it into a hangar without answering any questions.
Reporters must love that kind of thing.

Uh, I read about this on the Air Force website. It's not a secret.

So when do we get to watch it blow stuff up or explode on launch/re-entry?

Parts of Naval Ships are "top secret". Nuclear Reactors on subs and carriers for instance. You know what they do and how they do it. They are "top secret" because of the details of how they operate. This plane is no different.

dittybopper: Flash_NYC: What the hell kind of secret is that?

Double bluff? It's an X-K-Red 27 technique.

Mr. Manfredjinsinjin sees what you did there.

limboslam: [i486.photobucket.com image 398x268]

I can understand his confusion.
If he checked the roundel, he'd see that the X-37b is not NASA property.

The spacecraft itself obviously isn't "top secret", but what it does up there in orbit certainly is.