Gallery: X-37B Space Plane Returns to Earth

By Nancy Atkinson - December 3, 2010 at 1:03 PM UTC | Space Exploration
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The secret military space plane has returned home, and while the mission was classified, the Air Force and Boeing have supplied pictures of the craft after landing. With this mission appearing to be a success, the Air Force is preparing to launch the next X-37B, OTV-2, in Spring 2011 aboard an Atlas V booster.

See more images below.

[caption id="attachment_81225" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="X-37B is shown here after landing at 1:16 a.m. Pacific time today, concluding its more than 220-day experimental test mission. Credit: Boeing"]

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[caption id="attachment_81228" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The X-37B after landing. Credit: 30th Space Wing (Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif."]

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[caption id="attachment_81226" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="X-37B on the runway at Vandenburg Air Force Base. Credit: Boeing. "]

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[caption id="attachment_81231" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="X-37B after landing. Credit: 30th Wing, Vandenberg Air Force Base."]

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[caption id="attachment_81232" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="X-37B is shown here after landing at 1:16 a.m. Pacific time today, concluding its more than 220-day experimental test mission. Credit: Boeing"]

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[caption id="attachment_81233" align="aligncenter" width="580" caption="X-37B Landing by 30th Space Wing (Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.) "]

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Here's a video which includes the landing (which we showed on our previous article) plus post landing activities.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com