The U.S. military’s mini space shuttle, the X-37B, has completed its latest mission and returned to Earth after 434 days in orbit. The spacecraft was launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in December 2023 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Unlike traditional crewed space missions, this one carried only classified military experiments.
While Space Force officials declined to disclose the full details of the payload, they did mention that it included a NASA experiment designed to study the effects of radiation on materials. The shuttle’s return, which took place at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, occurred in the early hours of Friday. The landing was not publicly announced until hours afterward, and photos later revealed the space plane on the runway in the dark.
This mission marked the seventh flight of the X-37B, a reusable spaceplane that has now spent over 10 years in orbit since its debut in 2010. Space Force representatives confirmed that the mission successfully demonstrated the ability to change orbits using atmospheric drag, allowing for fuel conservation.
“Mission 7’s new orbital operations, its innovative aerobraking maneuver, and the testing of space domain awareness experiments represent an exciting new chapter in the X-37B program,” said Lt. Col. Blaine Stewart, the program director, in a statement. “Taken together, these milestones showcase the continued advancement of the U.S. Space Force’s dynamic mission capabilities.”
The Boeing-made X-37B, first launched in 2010, is a reusable spaceplane that has spent up to 908 days in space on previous missions. Though it resembles NASA’s retired space shuttles, it is much smaller, measuring 29 feet (9 meters) in length with a wingspan of almost 15 feet (4.5 meters). The X-37B launches vertically like a rocket but lands horizontally like an airplane. It can orbit at altitudes between 150 miles (240 kilometers) and 500 miles (800 kilometers) and features an autonomous landing system, meaning it requires no astronauts for landing.
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