Top-secret X-37B space plane returns to Earth in dead of night after mysterious 434-day mission, US military reveals – Livescience.com

The U.S. Space Force’s X-37B space plane, a top-secret military spacecraft, has successfully completed a 434-day mission in orbit, marking significant advancements in reusable space technology. Launched on December 29, 2023, from Vandenberg Space Force Base aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, the X-37B conducted various classified experiments, including those related to space radiation and space domain awareness technology. This mission, known as Mission 7, demonstrated new capabilities in aerobraking, a technique that uses atmospheric drag to adjust the spacecraft’s orbit efficiently, reducing the need for fuel. The X-37B, originally a NASA project transferred to the military in 2004 and built by Boeing, is designed to launch vertically, spend extended periods in space, and land horizontally like an airplane. Its missions aim to enhance the technology of reusable spacecraft, with its longest mission lasting 909 days. The recent mission’s successful completion was announced as the beginning of an “exciting new chapter” for the X-37B program.