Secret US space plane prepares to land
A U.S. Air Force space plane in orbit for more than a year will come back to Earth this weekend, say officials who remained mum on the mission's purpose.The robotic X-37B, after 15 months in space,
Is set to land Saturday at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, although weather and other factors could change that, officials said.
"We continue to monitor weather and technical conditions day by day to ensure conditions are safe for landing," Vandenberg spokesman Jeremy Eggers told SPACE.com. "At this time, the next available opportunity is Saturday, dependent upon weather and technical conditions. The landing window extends through June 18."
The unmanned X-37B looks like a much-shrunken version of NASA's now-retired space shuttle; two X-37Bs could fit into the payload bay of one of the shuttles now on their way to museums.
The space plane, by comparison, has a payload bay the size of a pickup truck bed.
The Boeing-built X-37B, powered by a solar array that lets it remain in orbit for long periods, is designed to land itself on a runway without the aid of a human controller.
GMT 15:48 2018 Tuesday ,09 January
Tech faithful gather to worship at mecca of innovationGMT 18:23 2018 Saturday ,06 January
Top tech lobby joins legal battle to keep 'net neutrality'GMT 14:03 2018 Thursday ,04 January
High-tech ship en route to resume hunt for MH370GMT 13:19 2017 Sunday ,31 December
Apple apologizes for slowing iPhones, offers discounted batteriesGMT 11:28 2017 Friday ,29 December
Apple, Epson face French legal pressureGMT 14:03 2017 Thursday ,28 December
North Korea denies role in WannaCry ransomware attackGMT 15:00 2017 Sunday ,24 December
NY iced tea maker sees shares tripleGMT 08:09 2017 Saturday ,23 December
France to take bitcoin regulation debateMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor