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| Photo Credit: AP. |
A US solar-powered space craft landed in Florida in the early hours of Saturday after completing a 908-day science mission.
The unmanned
military space plane landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in what appears to
be its sixth mission to the orbit.
The mission
was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in May 2020.
The space
craft hosted a service module that conducted experiments for a number of
entities including the Naval Research Laboratory and U.S. Air Force Academy.
Boeing Space
and Launch Senior Vice President Jim Chilton said in a statement:
“Since the
X-37B’s first launch in 2010, it has shattered records and provided our nation
with an unrivaled capability to rapidly test and integrate new space technologies.”
“With the service module added, this was the
most we’ve ever carried to orbit on the X-37B and we’re proud to have been able
to prove out this new and flexible capability for the government and its
industry partners,” according to the Washington Examiner.
Gen. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations said the mission “highlights the Space Force’s focus on collaboration in space exploration and expanding low-cost access to space for our partners, within and outside of the Department of the Air Force,” according to The Associated Press.