Boeings Unmanned X37-B Lands After a Year in Orbit

Boeing have announced the successful landing of the Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) for the U.S. Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.

This landing concluding a 469-day experimental test mission. It was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on March 5, 2011. OTV-1 was the United States’ first unmanned vehicle to return from space and land on its own. Previously, the space shuttle was the only space vehicle capable of returning to Earth and being reused. The innovative X-37B combines the best of an aircraft and a spacecraft into an affordable, responsive unmanned vehicle.