Business & Tech

Top Secret Boeing Space Plane a 'Spectacular Success'

Built partly by workers in Seal Beach, the unmanned space plane has been in orbit for more than five months longer than originally expected and is earning Air Force praise.

Seal Beach aerospace workers can give themselves a little pat on the back.

The unmanned space plane X-37B, built, in part, by workers at Boeing’s Seal Beach plant, is a “spectacular success.” However, no one will say what the space plane’s top-secret mission is.

As reported by Fox News, General William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command, recently admitted that the Air Force is very happy with the new plane:

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“Our second X-37 test vehicle has been on orbit for 409 days now" — much longer than the 270-day baseline design specifications, Shelton said. "Although I can't talk about mission specifics, suffice it to say this mission has been a spectacular success."

It was originally scheduled to land in December at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, but the Air Force extended its flight. The vehicle is designed to stay in orbit for 270 days, which is much longer than a manned space shuttle. It’s the first United States space plane that is automated and can reenter the atmosphere and land on an airstrip to be used again.

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This is the second space plane mission and the longest. The first was launched in 2010, and it stayed in space for 224 days. The first space plane is scheduled to be reused again in the fall for its second mission.

“This successful flight is important in the progression of the X-37B program, moving us forward in our effort to prove the utility and cost-effectiveness of an unmanned, long-duration, reusable spacecraft,” Lt. Col. Tom McIntyre, the X-37 systems program manager in the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, said in a written statement when the plane first exceeded the 270-day expectations.

The unmanned space plane was built by Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, the unit that designs and delivers satellites. Designed like a miniature space shuttle, the X-37B is only 29 feet long.

The launch of the X-37B caught the attention of foreign officials for the craft’s potential for use in spying or warfare. Air Force officials have touted its potential to make space travel more affordable and routine because the plane can be reused.


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