A file photo showing an unpiloted X-37B during taxi tests at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. An operational X-37B landed autonomously at Vandenberg Friday to close out a 22-and-a-half-month mission in low-Earth orbit. U.S. Air Force<\/p>\n
An unpiloted Air Force space plane glided back to Earth Friday after a record 674-day stay in orbit, closing out a clandestine military mission with a computer-controlled landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. <\/p>\n
The Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle, wrapping up its second long-duration mission and the secretive program's third flight overall, touched down at 12:24 p.m. EDT (GMT-4; 9:24 a.m. local time), rolling to a stop a few moments later. <\/p>\n
Other than a brief Air Force statement last Friday announcing landing preparations at Vandenberg, there was no advance warning of the space plane's re-entry and, in keeping with the secrecy surrounding the program, no details on what the spacecraft might have been doing during its nearly two years aloft. <\/p>\n
In a brief statement released shortly after landing, the Air Force said \"the OTV-3 conducted on-orbit experiments for 674 days during its mission, extending the total number of days spent on-orbit for the OTV program to 1,367 days.\" <\/p>\n
\"The 30th Space Wing and our mission partners, (the) Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, Boeing and our base support contractors have put countless hours of hard work into preparing for this landing,\" said Col Keith Balts, 30th Space Wing commander. \"I'm extremely proud of our team for coming together to execute this third safe and successful landing.\" <\/p>\n
It was the first official update on the spacecraft since launch from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket on Dec. 11, 2012. <\/p>\n
\"The landing of OTV-3 marks a hallmark event for the program,\" an unidentified program manager said in the Air Force release. \"The mission is our longest to date and we're pleased with the incremental progress we've seen in our testing of the reusable space plane. The dedication and hard work by the entire team has made us extremely proud.\" <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Technicians work on the the first X-37B space plane after a smooth landing on Dec. 3, 2010 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The same X-37B spacecraft launched back into space on Dec. 11, 2012. <\/p>\n
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Military space plane lands after record 674-day secret mission<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A file photo showing an unpiloted X-37B during taxi tests at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. An operational X-37B landed autonomously at Vandenberg Friday to close out a 22-and-a-half-month mission in low-Earth orbit Continue reading