US Secret Spaceplane X-37B Returns To Earth After Two YEARS
Top-Secret Space Plane Lands After Mysterious Two Year Mission
The Huffington Post UK
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A top-secret space plane returned to Earth yesterday after almost two years in orbit.
The unmanned plane spent more than 500 days circling Earth on a classified mission.
Known as the X-37B, it resembles a mini space shuttle. And nobody knows what it's for.
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Its mission began in December 2012, when the X-37B lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, atop an Atlas Five rocket and it safely touched down at 9:24 a.m. Friday, officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base said.
The 29-foot-long craft is built by Boeing, and is only officially explained as a test vehicle for technology. Which could mean literally anything. The widespread assumption is that the vehicle is used for some kind of surveillance, though that has not been confirmed.
Just what the plane was doing during its 674 days in orbit has been the subject of sometimes spectacular speculation.
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Several experts have theorised it carried a payload of spy gear in its cargo bay. Other theories sound straight out of a James Bond film, including that the spacecraft would be able to capture the satellites of other nations or shadow China's space lab.
In a written release announcing the return of the craft, the Air Force only said it had been conducting "on-orbit experiments."
The X-37B program has been an orphan of sorts, bouncing since its inception in 1999 between several federal agencies, NASA among them. It now resides under the Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office.
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X37B
X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle(01 of08)
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FILE - This Feb. 8, 2011 file image provided by the U.S. Air Force shows the X-37B during encapsulation within the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 5-meter fairing in Titusville, Fla. The unmanned Air Force space plane steered itself to a landing early Saturday, June 16, 2012, at a California military base, capping a 15-month clandestine mission. (AP Photo/US Air Force, File) (credit:AP)
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A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, carrying an X-37B experimental robotic space plane, lifts off from launch complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Air Force officials said the unmanned space plane, which resembles a miniature space shuttle, provides a way to test technologies in space.(AP Photo/John Raoux) (credit:AP)
(03 of08)
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This photo released by Vandenberg Air Force Base Monday June 18,2012, shows the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, the Air Force's unmanned, reusable space plane, after it landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base early Saturday June 16, 2012. The test vehicle which launched from Cape Canaveral March 5, 2011, conducted on-orbit experiments for 469 days during its mission. The X-37B is the newest and most advanced re-entry spacecraft. (AP Photo/Vandenberg Air Force) (credit:AP)
X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle(04 of08)
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This March 30, 2010 photo made available by the U.S. Air Force via NASA shows the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle during testing at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla. On Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, the Air Force launched the top-secret, unmanned mini-space shuttle from Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/U.S. Air Force via NASA) (credit:AP)
(05 of08)
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This Saturday, June 16, 2012 image from video made available by the Vandenberg Air Force Base shows an infrared view of the X-37B unmanned spacecraft landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The spacecraft, which was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in March 2011, conducted in-orbit experiments during the 15-month clandestine mission, officials said. It was the second such autonomous landing at the base. (AP Photo/Vandenberg Air Force Base) (credit:AP)
(06 of08)
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A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket stands ready for launch on the Complex 41 pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Monday, Dec. 10, 2012, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Atlas V rocket, scheduled to launch on Tuesday, will deploy the U.S. military's X-37B, a prototype spaceplane also called the Orbital Test Vehicle.(AP Photo/John Raoux) (credit:AP)
X-37 Orbital Test Vehicle(07 of08)
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This April 5, 2010 photo made available by the U.S. Air Force via NASA shows the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla. Half of the Atlas V five-meter fairing is in the background. On Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, the Air Force launched the top-secret, unmanned mini-space shuttle from Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/U.S. Air Force via NASA) (credit:AP)
(08 of08)
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This Saturday, June 16, 2012 image from video made available by the Vandenberg Air Force Base shows the X-37B unmanned spacecraft landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The spacecraft, which was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in March 2011, conducted in-orbit experiments during the 15-month clandestine mission, officials said. It was the second such autonomous landing at the base. (AP Photo/Vandenberg Air Force Base) (credit:AP)
The plane that landed Friday is one of two built by Boeing. This is the program's third mission, and began in December 2012.
The plane stands 9 1/2 feet tall and is just over 29 feet long, with a wingspan under 15 feet. It weighs 11,000 pounds and has solar panels that unfurl to charge its batteries once in orbit.
The Air Force said it plans to launch the fourth X-37B mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida, next year.