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US military’s mini space shuttle returns to Earth after orbiting for 434 days on a secret mission

By: Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press Posted:

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. military's classified mini space shuttle returned to Earth on Friday after circling the world for 434 days.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/03/2025 (546 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. military’s classified mini space shuttle returned to Earth on Friday after circling the world for 434 days.

The space plane blasted into orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in December 2023 on a secret mission. Launched by SpaceX, the X-37B vehicle carried no people, just military experiments.

Its predawn touchdown at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California was not announced until hours after the fact. Photos showed the white-and-black space plane parked on the runway in darkness.

This photo provided by United States Space Force the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle-7 (OTV-7), the U.S. Space Force’s dynamic unmanned spaceplane, successfully deorbited and landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., on March 7, 2025. (United States Space Force via AP)
This photo provided by United States Space Force the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle-7 (OTV-7), the U.S. Space Force’s dynamic unmanned spaceplane, successfully deorbited and landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., on March 7, 2025. (United States Space Force via AP)

It’s the seventh flight of one of these test vehicles. Space Force officials said the mission successfully demonstrated the ability to change orbits by using atmospheric drag to slow down, saving fuel.

It’s “an exciting new chapter in the X-37B program,” program director Lt. Col. Blaine Stewart said in a statement.

First launched in 2010, the Boeing-made, reusable space planes have spent as long as 908 days in space at a time. They’re 29 feet (9 meters) long with a wingspan of almost 15 feet (4.5 meters).

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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