The US Space Force ’s mysterious X-37B space airplane has been orbit Earth non - stop for just over a yr . Doing what ? That remains unclear , though its Edgar Lee Masters have disclosed some of its activity in 2024 .
X-37B shoot off on its latest delegation on December 28 , 2023 , quietly surpassing the 365 - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. patsy without any official announcement or tucket .
The data-based spaceplane is no stranger to long flight of stairs , though . Back in 2022 , it make out its sixth flight , wracking up908 sidereal day in orbit .
Another view of X-37B after its sixth mission.Image credit: US Space Force (Public Domain)
Now onits seventh reported mission , the X-37B recentlydemonstrateda novel technique known as aerobraking , where atmospheric rubbing is used to lour a ballistic capsule ’s orbital altitude while drop minimum fuel . It pulled off this feat to “ safely dispose ” of some module components in Earth ’s orbit . In other Son , they ’re deck somespace debris .
X-37Bwas plan by Boeing and is presently managed by the US Air Force as part of their foray into reusable infinite technologies . For each mission , it ’s carried into space by a launch vehicle , cruises freely in Earth ’s orbit , then re - participate the atmospheric state and commonwealth as a spaceplane .
The uncrewed spacecraft measures 8.9 meters ( 29 foot ) in length , with a wingspan of 4.55 time ( 14.9 feet ) . It ’s equal to of cruise in modest - ground domain , between 240 to 800 klick ( 150 to 500 miles ) above the Earth , at focal ratio of around 28,200 klick ( 17,523 air mile ) per 60 minutes .
While the US Space Force and Boeing appear to be pull back the drape on some aspects of the X-37B ’s operation , much of its mission remain cloaked in secretiveness , leaving an air of intrigue around the puzzling space vehicle .
Theofficial lineof the US military machine is that X-37B performs “ peril reduction , experiment and conception of operations development for reclaimable quad vehicle technologies ” – a vague statement that offers little brainwave into its unfeigned role .
What wedo know , however , is that the spaceplane has been contributing to a long - term subject field on how space radiation impacts germ viability and examination radiation - shielding thermal finishing for NASA .
There has been speculation that the X-37B might be some shape of spy plane or weapon . However , most of these claims have been dissolve . For one , it ’s relatively easy to give chase and create quite a spectacle upon re - accounting entry – hardly idealistic for covert surveillance and snooping the sky .
