Known as USA-240, the military\u2019s secret X-37B robotic space plane has been in orbit for more than two months and its mission is \u201cunknown and ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an article in space.com<\/a>, author Leonard David reports that \u201cThe U.S. Air Force\u2019s mysterious X-37B space plane is quietly chalking up mileage in space more than two months after its latest launch into orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n The X-37B looks like a mini-space shuttle, being only 29 feet long by 15 feet wide, and its cargo hold is \u201cabout the size of a pickup truck bed,\u201d according to David.\u00a0 \u201cOnly two X-37B space planes have been constructed for the Air Force by Boeing Government Space Systems.\u00a0 Flights of the space plane are conducted under the auspices of the Air Force\u2019s Rapid Capabilities Office.\u201d<\/p>\n It is believed that the X-37B may be a prototype for a \u201c\u2026reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the United States Air Force.\u201d\u00a0 Control of the robotic space plane is \u201chandled by the 3rd<\/sup> Space Experimentation Squadron, 21st<\/sup> Space Wing, of the Air Force Space Command, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n This latest mission is actually the \u201cthird classified mission under the Air Force\u2019s X-37B program\u201d says David.\u00a0 Originally launched into space on December 11th<\/sup>, it is unknown how long the plane will remain in orbit.\u00a0 A news blackout occurred within 17 minutes of the launch in December,<\/a> and no additional news about the plane has been forthcoming from the military.<\/p>\n \u201cThe mission is ongoing,\u201d Air Force Major Eric Badger, a spokesman for the X-37B program, told SPACE.com.\u00a0 \u201cAs with previous missions, the actual duration will depend on test objectives, on-orbit vehicle performance and conditions at the landing facility.\u201d<\/p>\n The plane had its maiden voyage in 2010, and its first mission \u201clasted nearly 225 days in orbit and then zoomed back to Earth on autopilot over the Pacific Ocean, gliding down onto a specially prepared runway at Vandenberg AFB in California,\u201d says David.\u00a0 A second X-37B robotic plane was used during the second mission last year, which lasted 469 days.<\/p>\n Although little is known about what the secret space plane may be carrying in its hold, there has been speculation.\u00a0 Ted Molczan, \u201ca leader in an ever-vigilant, worldwide satellite sleuthing network,\u201d told SPACE.com that he believes \u201cunlike the first two missions, its ground track does not closely repeat at the frequent intervals that would suggest an imaging reconnaissance mission.\u201d<\/p>\n