US military’s mini space shuttle returns to Earth after orbiting for 434 days on a secret mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The U.S. military’s classified mini space shuttle returned to Earth on Friday after circling the world for 434 days.

The space plane blasted into orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in December 2023 on a secret mission. Launched by SpaceX, the X-37B vehicle carried no people, just military experiments.

Its predawn touchdown at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California was not announced until hours after the fact. Photos showed the white-and-black space plane parked on the runway in darkness.

It’s the seventh flight of one of these test vehicles. Space Force officials said the mission successfully demonstrated the ability to change orbits by using atmospheric drag to slow down, saving fuel.

It’s “an exciting new chapter in the X-37B program,” program director Lt. Col. Blaine Stewart said in a statement.

First launched in 2010, the Boeing-made, reusable space planes have spent as long as 908 days in space at a time. They’re 29 feet (9 meters) long with a wingspan of almost 15 feet (4.5 meters).

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