WHAT is it doing up there? A top secret US spaceplane is due to land this week, after a record-breaking 22 months in orbit.
The X-37B, a miniature, uncrewed version of the space shuttle, built by Boeing for the US air force, has flown three times but its purpose is a mystery. Surveillance? Carrying out classified space experiments? We don't know.
The X-37B first flew in 2010 and again in 2011 and 2012. It launches aboard a conventional rocket, using solar panels for power while in orbit and gliding to Earth on its return.
The air force has said it will take over former shuttle hangars at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, suggesting it plans to expand X-37B operations.
As New Scientist went to press, officials at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California would say only that they were preparing for the X-37B to land and disclosed no further details. Amateurs tracking the craft suggested it would land on Tuesday morning, local time.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Shhhh, it's a secret"
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