Mystery U.S. space plane lands, ending 2-year mission

SCI-TECH

U.S. Air Force's mystery space plane lands, ends 2-year mission

Marcia Dunn The Associated Press
Published Monday, October 28, 2019 1:33PM EDT Last Updated Tuesday, October 29, 2019 10:16AM EDT

In this Oct. 27, 2019 photo released by the U.S. Air Force, the Air Force鈥檚 X-37B successfully lands at NASA鈥檚 Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility on Merritt Island in Brevard County, Fla., following a record-breaking two-year mission. (U.S. Air Force via AP)

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The U.S. Air Force's mystery space plane is back on Earth, following a record-breaking two-year mission.

The X-37B landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida early Sunday. The Air Force is mum about what the plane did in orbit after launching aboard a SpaceX rocket in 2017. The 780-day mission sets a new endurance record for the reusable test vehicle.

It looks like a space shuttle but is one-fourth the size at 29 feet.

Officials say this latest mission successfully completed its objectives. Experiments from the Air Force Research Laboratory were aboard.

This was the fifth spaceflight by a vehicle of this sort. No. 6 is planned next year with another launch from Cape Canaveral. The solar-powered plane is flown by remote control without a crew.