After 434 days in Space, a secret military aircraft X-37B, owned by the US space forces, successfully landed on the basis of Vandenberg in California. This mission did not become a record in duration, but was distinguished by important achievements.
X-37B is a unmanned space aircraft created by Boeing. It is used to test military and scientific technologies. Since 2010, he made 7 successful flights, with the longest lasted 908 days (ended in 2022). The last mission began on December 28, 2023, when the X-37B launched Falcon Heavy rocket. For the first time, this aircraft reached a highly elliptical orbit over 30,000 km from Earth. One of the key achievements of the seventh mission was the successful performance of aerodynamic braking maneuver. This maneuver allows you to change the orbit without significant fuel consumption, using the resistance of the Earth's atmosphere. It became the initial stage before returning X-37b to Earth: the aircraft descended from a highly elliptical orbit to a low Earth orbit, and then carried out a controlled landing. Research of the space environment and testing of new technologies. Experiments for NASA and US military whose details remain classified. Checking the capabilities of the spacecraft to work in different orbital modes. Like all previous missions, this X-37B flight has left many questions without answers. It is unknown when the next launch occurs, because such information is traditionally disclosed only before the start.
One thing can be said for sure: X-37B continues to remain a key element in US space research, and its technologies can affect the future of military and scientific astronautics.
