The unmanned drone was launched by the US Air Force. This is the sixth secret mission of the X-37B.
A US military space drone landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday after spending nearly two and a half years in orbit, Boeing said in a statement.
The X-37B unmanned shuttle , whose maiden flight took place in 2010, has spent a total of more than 10 years in space and has flown more than 1.3 billion miles during six missions, it added.
“This mission highlights the Space Force’s focus on collaboration for space exploration and expanding low-cost access to space for our partners, inside and outside the Department of the Air Force,” said General Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations.
details are revealed
Launched in secret, the X-37B was designed for the Air Force by the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
The drone has a length of nine meters, a wingspan of 4.5 meters and is powered by solar panels.
This latest mission sought to test the reaction of certain materials in space, assess how radiation in space affects a series of seeds, and transform solar radiation into radioelectric energy, the military said. (AFP)