X-37B Update: Space Plane Spotted Again in Orbit

By Nancy Atkinson - October 14, 2010 at 11:15 AM UTC | Space Exploration

Brent-5-26-10-x37b-2148pm-orlando-upload_1274938810_med.jpg

[/caption]

Here's an update on the US Air Force's secret X-37B space plane, which went missing last week -- at least for us Earth-bound satellite watchers (surely the Air Force knows exactly where it is!).

Spaceweather.com

reports that the plane has been spotted again by a skywatcher from South Africa, Greg Roberts on October 12. Spaceweather says, "An analysis of the sighting by satellite expert Ted Molczan suggests that the X-37B has maneuvered into an orbit 54 km lower than before." This is at least the second time the space plane's orbit has changed, but at least we now know it is still in orbit and hasn't landed.

If you want to try and see the X-37B yourself, visit the

Heaven's Above website

, and

Spaceweather

also has a way to track the plane, too.

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