MYSTERIOUS US SPACEPLANE RETURNS TO EARTH (STA BREAKING NEWS and ARCHIVES)

by STANews , Friday, October 17, 2014, 17:38

A US plane on a top-secret, two-year mission to space has returned to Earth and landed in California.

The aircraft, resembling a miniature space shuttle and known as the Orbital Test Vehicle or X-37B, spent 674 days in orbit around the planet.

It touched down at Vandenberg Air Force Base on Friday morning.

The purpose of the plane remains unclear - a theory that it was taking a look at China's space lab has recently been downplayed by experts.

Air Force officials have only told US media the aircraft performs "risk reduction, experimentation and concept-of-operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies".

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29669205