LOMPOC, Calif., Oct. 18 (UPI) -- An unmanned vehicle designed for space flight landed in a California air force base Friday, concluding a nearly two-year mission to conduct experiements while in orbit. <\/p>\n
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle finished its third mission when it touched down on the tarmac at Vandenberg Air Force Base Friday morning. The vehicle spent 674 days conducting on-orbit experiments, raising its overall time in such missions to 1,367 days, the Air Force said. <\/p>\n
The X-37B is \"an unmanned space vehicle that will be used by the United States Air Force to explore reusable vehicle technologies in support of long-term space objectives,\" according to Boeing, the craft's designer. <\/p>\n
Both Boeing and the Air Force have called the X-37B \"the newest and most advanced re-entry spacecraft\" in the world. Managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, the craft, which resembles a small space shuttle, was designed for \"risk reduction, experimentation and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies.\" <\/p>\n
The vehicle was launched on an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Dec. 2012. <\/p>\n
The previous two missions were launched in 2010 and 2011, respectively, each ending at Vandenberg Air Force Base. <\/p>\n
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