The U.S Air Force’s highly secret unmanned space plane will land
in June – ending a year-long mission in orbit. The experimental
Boeing X37-B has been circling Earth at 17,000 miles per hour
and was due to land in California in December. It is now
expected to land in mid to late June. At launch, the space plane
was accompanied by staff in biohazard suits, leading to
speculation that there were radioactive components on board. The
men and women of Team Vandenberg are ready to execute safe
landing operations anytime and at a moment’s notice,’ said
Colonel Nina Armagno of the U.S. Air Force’s Space Wing. The
plane resembles a mini space shuttle and is the second to fly in
space. It was meant to land in March, but the mission of the
X-37B orbital test vehicle was extended – for unknown reasons.
The first one landed last December at Vandenberg Air Force Base
in California after more than seven months in orbit. The
29-foot, solar-powered craft had an original mission of 270
days. The Air Force said the second missi