Super secret 'space plane' booms back to Earth after 2 years in orbit

X-37B plane landing.
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube)

A mysterious military "space plane" returned to Earth on Sunday after a more than 700-day mission, announcing its arrival with a window-rattling sonic boom heard over a large swatch of central Florida.

Not much is known about the classified, unmanned Air Force plane, why it was sent to space, or what it might have taken with it. Lt. Col. Ron Fehlen, who is the program manager for the experimental X-37B aircraft, said the mission was a success and that the team is "excited about the data gathered to support the scientific and space communities,'' WMFE reports.

Several theories exist about the purpose of the X-37B, including speculation that it is used for surveillance or combat. "Fueling theories that it aids surveillance programs, trackers found that at least one earlier mission followed an orbit that took it over countries that included Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan," NPR writes.

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Watch the X-37B land on a shuttle runway at NASA's Kennedy Space Center below. Jeva Lange

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.