Aviation Week posted a story on their website last night about an ultra-secret two-stage-to-orbit space plane that has apparently been operational for the past 16 years.
Called “Blackstar”, the project apparently grew out of the remains of the old XB-70 bomber program. It operated out of Groom Lake (aka “Area 51”) and (this is personal speculation here) may be the famous and legendary “Aurora Project”.
The only reason that Aviation Week is running the story is because it seems that the program has been cancelled (or so they say). Some previous coverage of Area 51 and Aurora can be found in this post.
