Saturday, March 29, 2014

Classified X-37B space plane breaks space longevity record

Classified X-37B space plane breaks space longevity record - Computerworld:
"A little-known  space plane quietly broke its own space endurance record this week as its current unmanned mission surpassed 469 days in space.
Much of the information about the X-37B and its mission is classified, but the little that is public points to it being a development vehicle for new Air Force space capabilities while serving a secondary role for the U.S. military and intelligence community as a testbed for new space-based surveillance technologies.
The current mission, dubbed USA-240, is the third for the X-37B and began on Dec. 11, 2012, atop an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral.
The spacecraft is taken into orbit on a rocket but lands like the space shuttle by gliding down to Earth."

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