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After a mission in space that lasted nearly two years, the US Air Force top secret space drone has returned safely to Earth, the US Air Force said. |
The unmanned space system landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Friday.
The space ship, which is dubbed the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, “conducted on-orbit experiments for 674 days during its mission,” Vandenberg Air Force Base said in a statement.
The mission - the programme’s third - began in December 2012.
The spacecraft is small compared with the space shuttle, which it resembles. The X-37B stands 2.9m tall and is about 9m long. Its wingspan is 4.5m. Solar panels are used to charge its batteries once in orbit.
Weighing only about 5 tonnes - hardly one-twentieth the weight of the space shuttle - it is launched like a rocket, and is designed to be reusable after returning to earth like the old shuttles, which have been retired.
Boeing is the lead developer of the X-37B. Photos released by Vandenberg Air Force Base and attributed to Boeing show people servicing the X-37B after it landed. They are wearing protective white suits covering their entire bodies.
The X-37B is managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. The short Air Force said the X-37B programme is focused on reusable space vehicle technologies, with risk reduction and experimentation among its tasks.
Specifics on what the aircraft did during its latest mission have been the subject of speculation. Several experts said it carried a payload of spy equipment in its cargo bay, according to space.com. Others speculate that its work involved developing the capability of capturing the satellites of other nations or shadowing China’s space lab.
The Air Force said it plans to launch the fourth X-37B mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida, next year, the website said.
