After more than a year in orbit, the US Air Force’s clandestine mini-space shuttle will probably land at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California sometime this week, with some reports saying it could land as early as today, Wednesday, June 13, 2012.
It has been in orbit since March 5, 2011, but like the first X-37B mission that flew in 2010 and spent 224 days in space, the Air Force has not issued any info of what the craft is undertaking or exactly where it is orbiting. However, amateur skywatchers and amateur satellite trackers have been keeping an eye on where the OTV-2 has been.
Sources and more information:
• Boeing space plane returning from year-long secret mission
The experimental Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle was launched in March 2011. The Air Force has not revealed the nature of the mission. A spokesman for Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., told ABC News the spacecraft’s first landing availability is Wednesday, but weather or technical conditions could delay that.
• Air Force’s Secretive X-37B Space Plane May Land Friday