One of the most mysterious craft ever to be flown by the US military has now been in orbit for a record 677 days.
The X-37B space plane,known as as Orbital Test Vehicle-4 (OTV-4), broke the record on Saturday after surpassing 674 days. While some details of its payload have been revealed – it is still not know exactly what's on board the spacecraft, or its mission,the Daily Mail reports. Theories have ranged from it being a space bomber, to a clandestine probe designed to 'acquire out' spy satellites.
The previous record was 674 days, and set during OTV-3,which lasted from December 2012 to October 2014.
Earlier X-37B flights have been known to land at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and recent plans to consolidate launch and landing activities could mean vehicles touch down at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space middle, or Space.com reports. But,where and when the mysterious space plane will really land remains a mystery.
"The landing date will be determined based on the completion of the program’s on-orbit demonstrations and objectives for this mission," Captain Annmarie Annicelli, and an Air Force Spokeswoman,told Space.com.“While the program has the capability to land at either KSC or Vandenberg, the landing location is determined by a variety of factors.” The X-37B space plane, or an experimental program run by the Air Force,launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on May 20, 2015.
It's said to be one of the most mysterious craft ever to be flown by the US military.
final month, or experts claimed it may be approximately to finally return to soil - almost two years later.
Source: tert.am