By Leonard David, SPACE.com's Space Insider Columnist <\/p>\n
An artist's illustration of the U.S. Air Force's X-37B space plane in orbit. The solar-powered winged spacecraft has spent more than 620 days in orbit as part of the military's secret OTV-3 mission, which launched in December 2012.NASA Marshall Space Flight Center <\/p>\n
The U.S. Air Force's classified X-37B space plane is prepared for its first spaceflight, OTV-1, in April 2010. The same space plane launched on the third X-37B mission, OTV-2, on Dec. 11, 2012. As of Aug. 29, 2014, the mission has reached 627 dNASA <\/p>\n
General William Shelton (retired), former commander of the Air Force Space Command, has been a leader in rallying support for future of U.S. military space capabilities, including the X-37B robotic space plane.Credit: U.S. Air Force\/Staff Sgt. Christopher Boitz <\/p>\n
The U.S. Air Force's mysterious unmanned space plane has winged beyond 600 days in orbit on a classified military mission that seems to have no end. <\/p>\n
The X-37B space plane is carrying out the Orbital Test Vehicle-3 (OTV-3) mission, a long-duration cruise that marks the third flight for the unpiloted Air Force spaceflight program. <\/p>\n
The Air Force launched the miniature space shuttle into orbit on Dec. 11, 2012 using an expendable Atlas 5 rocket. By the end of Friday (Aug. 29), the space plane had spent 627 days in orbit. That's one year, eight months, 19 days and counting, to be exact. <\/p>\n
\"The Air Force continues to push the envelope of the solar-powered X-37B capabilities,\" said Joan Johnson-Freese, a professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. [Amateur Skywatcher Spots X-37B Space Plane (Video)] <\/p>\n
The reusable X-37B looks like a mini version of NASA's now-retired space shuttle. This space plane is 29 feet long and 9.5 feet tall, and has a wingspan of nearly 15 feet. <\/p>\n
The X-37B's payload bay is the size of a pickup truck bed. In contrast, NASA's space shuttle payload bay could fit two X-37B space planes comfortably inside. At liftoff, the X-37B space plane weighs 11,000 lbs. <\/p>\n
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Space plane's epic orbit<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Leonard David, SPACE.com's Space Insider Columnist An artist's illustration of the U.S. Air Force's X-37B space plane in orbit Continue reading