A little over 7 months after its launch, this morning the X-37B landed successfully at Vandenberg AFB, according to this VAFB press release.
(Artist’s conception of the X-37. NASA image.)
This program has elicited some interesting commentary in the press. As I wrote in the Space Warfare Forum the day after the launch,
I find it interesting that the news outlets make such frequent use of the word “secret” to describe something that a) they’ve been given pictures of and written articles about, and b) they knew ahead of time was going to launch. Fox News, “a mission shrouded in secrecy,” really? Metro UK, “secret military robot shuttle”? They don’t know what secrecy is.
What a far cry from the days when only the launch and payload crews knew what was on top of the rocket, and the first time most other people found out about the launch was when it thundered away in the distance. And most people never knew what the payload was.
For the curious, here’s more on the X-37 itself.
And again, congratulations to everyone involved — well done!
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