X-37B

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Military Space Plane Blasts Off on Secretive Mission

X-37B could be in space for years

(Newser) - The US military's X-37B space plane blasted off Thursday on another secretive mission that's expected to last at least a couple of years. Like previous missions, the reusable plane resembling a mini space shuttle carried classified experiments. There's no one on board. The space plane took off...

Secretive Space Plane Left in 2017, Just Returned

Air Force's X-37B spent 780 days aloft

(Newser) - 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 Sunday, per the AP . The Air Force is mum about what the unmanned plane did in orbit after launching aboard a SpaceX rocket...

Mysterious Space Plane on Mysterious Mission Has Been in Orbit 720 Days

X-37B breaks its own spaceflight duration record

(Newser) - The military space plane X-37B has been in orbit since Sept. 7, 2017—and this week, the uncrewed, solar-powered plane broke its own record for spaceflight duration. At 6:43am Eastern time Monday, X-37B's current mission had officially lasted longer than the previous one, Orbital Test Vehicle 4 (OTV-4),...

Plane Ends 2 Secretive Years in Space

Air Force's X-37B space plane touched down Sunday in Florida

(Newser) - The Air Force owns two X-37B space planes, and one of them is finally back on the ground after a nearly 2-year-long secret mission. While the what is unknown, the how long is clear: 718 days in orbit, reports Space.com , with the unmanned plane landing Sunday morning at NASA'...

US Spaceplane Back After Secret 2-Year Mission

NASA still mum on what the X-37B is up to

(Newser) - A US spaceplane returned safe and sound yesterday after a two-year mission somewhere up there, reports Space.com . And what the unmanned X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle was doing for all that time is, as they say, classified. The shuttle-like craft came in without a hitch at Vandenberg Air Force Base...

Spy Plane Ending Its 2 Secretive Years in Space

Air Force's X-37B to complete 3rd secret mission today

(Newser) - Some 673 days after it was launched into space for a secret mission , the Air Force's robotic X-37B space plane is set to return to Earth today—and there's still no word on what it was doing up there. Some rumors say that the robotic mini-space shuttle was...

Air Force's Secret Robot Space Plane Blasts Off

For an unknown mission

(Newser) - Who says America doesn't have a space program anymore? Sure the shuttle's gone, but the military is keeping the dream alive—and classified. The Air Force today launched its top-secret unmanned space shuttle alternative into orbit on a mysterious mission, the AP reports. The vessel, dubbed the X-37B,...

Air Force Spacecraft Ends 15-Month Secret Mission

X37-B space plane lands itself at military base

(Newser) - An American spacecraft landed itself at a military base in California on the weekend, ending a 15-month mission—but don't expect to hear much about what the unmanned plane was doing up there. The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is an Air Force plane and while the military says the...

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