"Joseph S. Powell, III" wrote:

That thing's fringgin' TINY......I think you'd have more space in the X-20
Dyna Soar, lol!
Of course, it would have taken a Titan 3 to launch the X-20, and the X-37
just needs a Delta 3......
Is this really progress, or does it seem in many ways we're going BACKWARDS
in manned spaceflight?

It *is* a test vehicle, after all. Wind tunnel models of the 747
didn't have to be 1:1 scale, either. Neither was X-33 as large as
VentureStar. They just have to be large enough to be developmentally
realistic.

And even as a final size, it doesn't have to be manned. Think of the
end result as an orbital, reusable RPV. If you don't need Hubble-sized
optics, all sorts of spooky stuff can be put in a fairly small volume.
Espically when you expect to get it back (which means you can use hi-res
film, and plan to physically sample stuff), and if necessary, modify it
for re-flight.