The X-37B has landed! Top-secret space plane lands on California coast after almost TWO YEARS in orbit - and the government still refuses to...
The X-37B has landed! Top-secret space plane lands on California coast after almost TWO YEARS in orbit - and the government still refuses to reveal what it was doing
By Mark Prigg for MailOnline 18:59 17 Oct 2014, updated 16:57 18 Oct 2014
This June 16, 2012 file 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 purpose of the U.S. military's space plane is classified, only fueling speculation about why it has been orbiting Earth for nearly two years on this, its third mission. The plane is expected to land this week at a Southern California Air Force base.
(AP Photo/Vandenberg Air Force Base, File)
Craft has been in space for a total of 674 days
Experts claim it carried payload of spy gear in cargo bay
A top-secret space plane has landed safely on the Southern California coast.
Officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base said the plane, which spent nearly two years orbiting Earth on a classified mission, touched down at 9:24 a.m. Friday.
The X-37B space drone, otherwise known as the Orbital Test Vehicle, has been in flight since December 2012 on a secret mission.
The mystery spacecraft, which some say could be being used for spying, has landed at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California after almost to years in orbit.
X-37B'S MYSTERY MISSIONS
The U.S. Air Force's unmanned X-37B space plane has flown three secret missions to date.
Each time it has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit.
The spacecraft looks similar to Nasa's space shuttle but is much smaller. The X-37B is about 29ft (8.8m) long and 9.5ft (2.9 m) tall.
It has a wingspan of just less than 15ft (4.6 m). At launch, it weighs 11,000lbs (4,990kg).
The craft is taken into orbit on a rocket but lands like the space shuttle by gliding down to Earth.
The plane, known as the X-37B, resembles a mini space shuttle.
Just what the plane was doing has been the subject of sometimes spectacular speculation.
Several experts have theorized 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.
The X-37B program has bounced between several federal agencies, NASA among them, since 1999.
The plane has been in space for a total of 674 days, far more than its two previous flights which lasted 225 and 469 days.
The program's first mission launched in April 2010 and landed in December that year.
The second space plane took off on March 2011 and came back to Earth in June 2012.
By Mark Prigg for MailOnline 18:59 17 Oct 2014, updated 16:57 18 Oct 2014
This June 16, 2012 file 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 purpose of the U.S. military's space plane is classified, only fueling speculation about why it has been orbiting Earth for nearly two years on this, its third mission. The plane is expected to land this week at a Southern California Air Force base.
(AP Photo/Vandenberg Air Force Base, File)
Craft has been in space for a total of 674 days
Experts claim it carried payload of spy gear in cargo bay
A top-secret space plane has landed safely on the Southern California coast.
Officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base said the plane, which spent nearly two years orbiting Earth on a classified mission, touched down at 9:24 a.m. Friday.
The X-37B space drone, otherwise known as the Orbital Test Vehicle, has been in flight since December 2012 on a secret mission.
The mystery spacecraft, which some say could be being used for spying, has landed at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California after almost to years in orbit.
X-37B'S MYSTERY MISSIONS
The U.S. Air Force's unmanned X-37B space plane has flown three secret missions to date.
Each time it has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit.
The spacecraft looks similar to Nasa's space shuttle but is much smaller. The X-37B is about 29ft (8.8m) long and 9.5ft (2.9 m) tall.
It has a wingspan of just less than 15ft (4.6 m). At launch, it weighs 11,000lbs (4,990kg).
The craft is taken into orbit on a rocket but lands like the space shuttle by gliding down to Earth.
The plane, known as the X-37B, resembles a mini space shuttle.
Just what the plane was doing has been the subject of sometimes spectacular speculation.
Several experts have theorized 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.
The X-37B program has bounced between several federal agencies, NASA among them, since 1999.
The plane has been in space for a total of 674 days, far more than its two previous flights which lasted 225 and 469 days.
The program's first mission launched in April 2010 and landed in December that year.
The second space plane took off on March 2011 and came back to Earth in June 2012.
