Air Force’s Mystery Space Plane Lands, Ends 2-Year Mission
The Air Force’s mystery space plane is back on Earth, following a record-breaking two-year mission. The X-37B landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida early Sunday.
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle breaks record with 780 days in orbit after landing at @NASAKennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility at 3:51 a.m.
Learn more about its record breaking mission here: https://t.co/q3zs27xc9q pic.twitter.com/TaKWZuDClq
— U.S. Air Force (@usairforce) October 27, 2019
The Air Force is mum about what the plane did in orbit after launching aboard a SpaceX rocket in 2017. The 780-day mission sets a new endurance record for the reusable test vehicle.
It looks like a space shuttle but is one-fourth the size at 29 feet.
Officials say this latest mission successfully completed its objectives. Experiments from the Air Force Research Laboratory were aboard.
This was the fifth spaceflight by a vehicle of this sort. No. 6 is planned next year with another launch from Cape Canaveral. According to Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, “Each successive mission advances our nation’s space capabilities.”
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