The US Space Force’s mysterious X-37B space plane has been orbiting the Earth for over a year now, 379 days to be exact. What it’s doing there remains a mystery, but there are some clues that shed light on its secret mission. The uncrewed X-37B space plane was launched into orbit by SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket on December 28, 2023. This is the seventh mission of the mysterious US military space plane, which was created by Boeing, reports IFLScience. The plane has been in orbit for 379 days now and it is unknown when it will return. If the X-37B needs a launch vehicle to reach orbit, it lands like a regular plane on a runway, which has already been demonstrated 6 times. The U.S. Space Force first launched the X-37B into orbit in 2010. That first mission for the secretive aircraft lasted 224 days. The longest the X-37B spent in orbit was during its sixth mission, which ended in 2022. It lasted 908 days. Not much information has emerged about the space plane itself over the years to know exactly what it is doing in orbit. It is also unknown how long it will spend in space during its seventh mission. It is likely that the end of this mission will be known when the plane returns to Earth, as it has in the past. Experts believe that the Pentagon is testing reusable space plane technology, but whether this is true is unknown. Most of the X-37B missions have always been shrouded in secrecy, and the seventh mission is no exception. Officially, the Pentagon has repeatedly stated that the X-37B is testing various space technologies, without going into detail. It is known that last year the X-37B space plane demonstrated for the first time the technology of aerobraking, when atmospheric friction is used to lower the orbit with minimal fuel consumption. It is also known that during this maneuver the X-37B utilized some devices in the Earth’s atmosphere, but it is not known which ones. As for the X-37B’s current mission, NASA said the aircraft is carrying out an experiment that should provide more information about how space radiation affects plant seeds and their survival in space. NASA is also testing new protective thermal coatings for spacecraft. What is known about the X-37B space plane itself? It is almost 9 meters long and has a wingspan of 4.5 meters. The plane can fly at an altitude of 240 to 800 km above the Earth. But the Pentagon is hiding information about the altitude of the X-37B during the seventh mission. Although there is nothing surprising, because such information was not disclosed during previous missions. The X-37B space plane can fly above the Earth at a speed of more than 28,000 km / h. Some experts suggest that the seventh mission may end in 2026, but this is only an assumption and there is no confirmation of this. It is worth noting that each new X-37B mission has been longer than the previous one. Therefore, there is a possibility that the seventh mission will last longer than the sixth and, perhaps, the secret US space plane will stay in orbit for even 1,000 days. The post Secret US Space Plane Has Been in Orbit for Over a Year appeared first on Anomalien.com.