VIDEO: United States Air Force’s Unmanned Spaceplane Makes First Landing At Kennedy Space Center
By Chris Boex, FOX 35 // May 7, 2017
surprise landing at Kennedy Space Center
ABOVE VIDEO: The Air Force’s secret unmanned spaceplane made a surprise landing at Kennedy Space Center early Sunday after over 700 days in space.
BREVARD COUNTY • KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLORIDA (FOX 35) – The Air Force’s secret unmanned spaceplane made a surprise landing at Kennedy Space Center early Sunday after over 700 days in space.
The returning X-37B announced its arrival with a sonic boom, giving Space Coast residents their second booming wakeup call in a week.
When the small craft’s wheels touched down on the Shuttle Landing Facility runway just before 8 a.m., it marked the first time that a spacecraft landed at Kennedy Space Center since the last flight of space shuttle Atlantis nearly six years ago.
A photo released by the Air Force this morning showed suited technicians inspecting the stubby spaceplane on the runway with the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building in the background.
Three previous X-7B missions all concluded at Edwards Air Force Base in California. But the Air Force now maintains one of three former shuttle hangars at KSC for the X-37B program, allowing the Boeing-built spaceplane to launch, land, and be refurbished at the same spaceport.
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