Space & Astronomy

X-37B space plane set to return this week

By T.K. Randall
October 15, 2014

Image: X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle
Credit: (PD) U.S. Air Force Originally developed by Boeing for NASA in 1999 as a reusable spacecraft similar to the space shuttles, the X-37 ( or Orbital Test Vehicle ) was later reworked and transferred to DARPA in 2004 after which it became a classified project.

Little is known about the specific nature and purpose of the resulting aircraft other than that it is capable of spending years in orbit on a single mission without having to return to Earth.Some have speculated that the X-37 is being used to carry out covert operations over foreign nations or that it is transporting new instruments in to orbit for use with spy satellites.

Two of the vehicles have been launched to date, one of them having been on two trips while the other having been launched just once. This latest mission, which is due to end this week, saw one of the X-37s spend an unprecedented two years in orbit.

What it was doing up there during that time however remains a complete mystery.

Source: The Register

Tags: X-37, Space Plane