The USAF’s X-37B unmanned space plane is due to return to earth for the first time sometime in the first week of December after spending nearly eight months in orbit.
Launched on April 22 atop a Delta expendable rocket booster, the aircraft, which resembles a mini space shuttle orbiter, will land at Vandenberg AFB north of Los Angeles.
The USAF has been quiet on the X-37B’s mission, but analysts believe it has the ability to not only place payloads of up to 300kg in orbit, but can also manoeuvre in space and potentially disrupt other satellite operations.
