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IS IT a robotic spy? An orbiting bomber? A superfast transport system? The X-37B鈥檚 return to Earth was the first robot-controlled re-entry and landing in the history of the US space programme, but its purpose remains a mystery.
After more than seven months in orbit, the US air force spacecraft landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on 3 December. Made by Boeing, it is the first US craft to reach orbit and return autonomously to a runway. The Soviet Union鈥檚 Buran space shuttle accomplished a similar feat in 1988.
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The X-37B resembles the space shuttle but, at 9 metres long, is roughly a quarter the length. The nature of its first mission and its intended use remain unclear, but a craft like this has the potential to loft sensors, satellites or other instruments into space and bring them back, or retrieve objects already in orbit.
Boeing鈥檚 website says: 鈥淚ts objectives include space experimentation, risk reduction, and concept-of-operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies that could become key enablers for future space missions.鈥�
A lack of more detailed information has prompted speculation that the X-37B will be used for spying, to carry instruments that could sabotage enemy satellites, to rapidly transport marines around the world, or even to serve as a weapons delivery system.