After two and a half years in space, the U.S. Space Force's spaceplane touched down at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
On November 12th, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle 6 landed. It was a new record for the longest time in space. The previous record was set by the Boeing vehicle.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket was used to launch the spaceplane. This was the sixth flight of the mysterious spaceplane, carrying cargo for the US military and NASA.
A service module was carried by the uncrewed space plane. The service module was thrown away before it returned to Earth.
The spaceplane is an airplane-spacecraft hybrid that is able to launch into the sky and land on the ground. The Space Force didn't specify the exact capabilities of its spaceplane, but noted that it would be able to bring experiments back to Earth for analysis
The Space Force focuses on collaboration in space exploration and expanding low-cost access to space for our partners, within and outside of the Department of the Air Force.
There is a solar energy experiment designed by the Naval Research Lab that is meant to capture sunlight and convert it into electrical energy. NASA put the spaceplane with its own experiments, including the Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space, which will study the effects of space exposure on different materials.
It's not clear what the spaceplane was doing up there for over a year. The U.S. Space Force didn't give any information about when the vehicle would land.
China launched its own spaceplane on August 4, but no one knows when it will land.
Satellites set a new relay record for sending messages to Earth.
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