The top-secret plane landed 780 days in orbit

The most mysterious spacecraft of the US Air Force set a new record for the longest time in orbit in the fifth mission.

The US Air Force X-37B aircraft landed at the space shuttle space of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, nearly two years after launching on the back of the Falcon 9 rocket, breaking a record inside. Space by itself. The unmanned aircraft shaped like a miniature shuttle back to Earth at 14:51 on October 27 according to Hanoi time, ending 780 days in orbit.

X-37B aircraft successfully landed at Kennedy Space Center on October 27.(Photo: RT).

Originally designed to spend 240 days in the universe, the top-secret plane performed a total of 5 missions. With the fifth mission, X-37B surpassed 62 days compared to the previous record set on May 7, 1962. The actual purpose of the missions performed by the plane remains a curious topic.

The project began as a NASA study on the development of cost-effective reusable shuttles, but later expanded into top-secret military projects. Some sources say the US Air Force is developing reconnaissance technology such as a tiny spy satellite that can "disappear" in the blink of an eye. However, the US Air Force announcement did not cover details of experiments conducted by the X-37B.

"This mission successfully carried out experiments with the US Air Force Research Laboratory and many other activities, as well as the transportation of small satellites, " said Randy Walden, director of the Quick Response Agency. of the US Air Force, said.

X-37B's fifth mission also marks the first time the US government has used a rocket from Elon Musk's SpaceX company to send a space plane to orbit. The launch took place on September 7, 2017 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. X-37B will begin its 6th mission next year.

1. Mysterious US aircraft set a record of time saved space
2. Top-secret US planes were photographed while operating in space