66°F
weather icon Clear
Las Vegas, NV
Nation and World

After 2 years aloft, Air Force’s mystery space plane lands

In a Oct. 27, 2019, photo released by the U.S. Air Force, the Air Force’s X-37B successfully ...
In a Oct. 27, 2019, photo released by the U.S. Air Force, the Air Force’s X-37B successfully lands at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility on Merritt Island in Brevard County, Fla., following a record-breaking two-year mission. (U.S. Air Force via AP)
More Stories
The Supreme Court in Washington, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Supreme Court will consider whether people who regularly smoke pot can legally own guns
Daniel Thorpe, of Hoboken, N.J., uses the Amazon app to pay for his purchase at the Amazon 4-st ...
Amazon cloud computing outage disrupts Snapchat, Ring and many other online services
Freed Israeli hostages, twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, who were recently released from Hama ...
Renewed fighting tests Gaza ceasefire
Police officers work inside the Louvre museum, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibau ...
Thieves steal crown jewels in 4 minutes from Louvre Museum
By Marcia Dunn The Associated Press
October 28, 2019 - 10:37 am
 
Updated October 28, 2019 - 2:58 pm

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.— The Air Force’s mystery space plane is back on Earth, following a record-breaking two-year mission.

The X-37B landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida early Sunday. The Air Force is mum about what the plane did in orbit after launching aboard a SpaceX rocket in 2017. The 780-day mission sets a new endurance record for the reusable test vehicle.

It looks like a space shuttle but is one-fourth the size at 29 feet.

Officials say this latest mission successfully completed its objectives. Experiments from the Air Force Research Laboratory were aboard.

This was the fifth spaceflight by a vehicle of this sort. No. 6 is planned next year with another launch from Cape Canaveral. According to Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, “Each successive mission advances our nation’s space capabilities.”

MOST READ
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Freed Israeli hostages, twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman, who were recently released from Hama ...
Renewed fighting tests Gaza ceasefire
By JOSEF FEDERMAN and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

Gaza’s fragile ceasefire faced its first major test Sunday as Israeli forces launched a wave of deadly strikes, saying Hamas militants had killed two soldiers.

Police officers work inside the Louvre museum, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibau ...
Thieves steal crown jewels in 4 minutes from Louvre Museum
By Thomas Adamson Associated Press

The heist about 30 minutes after opening, was among the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory and comes as staff complained that crowding and thin staffing are straining security.

A man fishes in Cocorite, Trinidad and Tobago, Friday, Oct. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Anselm Gibbs)
US Embassy issues warning to Americans in Trinidad and Tobago
By Anselm Gibbs Associated Press

The U.S. Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago cautioned Americans on Saturday to stay away from American government facilities as tensions grow between the United States and Venezuela

MORE STORIES