Top-secret X-37B space plane is about to break another record
The U.S. Air Force's top-secret autonomous space plane, the X-37B, is days away from breaking its own longevity record. The aircraft, which looks like a mini Space Shuttle, will on March 25 begin its record-setting 675th day in orbit, but we still don't know much about what it's doing up there.
The X-37B looks a little like the Space Shuttle, but it's much smaller. It began life as a NASA project but was transferred to the Air Force in 2004 as part of the U.S. military's little-known space program. That's when it moved into the shadows.
The program is owned by the U.S. Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office, which is charged with expediting development and deployment of select Defense Dept. combat support and weapon systems. The office helps take strategic technology and accelerate its development, and the X-37B appears to be playing a part in that.
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