I just picked up a BBC report on the return of the X-37B this Friday morning at Vandenberg AFB. The craft looks something like a mini-space shuttle, but does not carry humans. It just returned from 674 days in orbit.
It is the third mission for the programme, started in 1999 and currently run by the Air Force's Rapid Capabilities Office.
The first plane flew in April 2010 and returned after eight months. The second launched in March 2011 and remained in space for 15 months.
The current aircraft - built by Boeing - utilises solar panels for power in orbit, measures over 29ft (9m) long, has a wingspan of nearly 15ft and a weight of 11,000lbs (4,989 kg).
A fourth X-37B mission is said to currently be slated for launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2015.
The X-37B is intriguing because its missions are highly classified, and it's a reusable craft capable of carrying different payloads to orbit and returning them to Earth. It's worth noting that the Air Force already has this capability while the commercial launch business is still fully developing their vehicles. The next few years could be interesting ones for Space. The X-37B is currently launched by an expendable booster. If it could be adapted to the reusable booster SpaceX is working on, the whole launch system would become reusable - a first.
Meanwhile, for those who want a piece of history and have some cash, the group trying to keep the last Avro Vulcan XH-558 flying have some genuine Vulcan parts up on eBay to raise funds. Happy bidding!