The Air Force sets a new record when its secret space plane flew more than two years in a row

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The US Air Force broke its own record after one of its specialty aircraft remained in low Earth orbit for almost two years. But this plane and the project to which it belongs are still surrounded by mystery.

According to an Air Force press release revealing information about the project, the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is "an experimental test program designed to demonstrate technologies for creating a reliable, reusable and unambiguous space test platform. pilot for the US Air Force. the dual purpose of developing "space-saving spacecraft technologies for the future of America in space and conducting experiments that can be returned and examined on Earth".

But what the air force was much less clear, that's why this unmanned airplane flew for so long and what it did during his flight. The Washington Post noted that the X-37B was stuck in a low Earth orbit, identical to that which houses the military satellites and the International Space Station.

The plane looks like a mini space shuttle. It is 29 feet long and 9 feet high, with a wingspan of only 15 feet. It was put into orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2017. According to the magazine Air & Space, the X-37B moves using "Hall thrusters" that use "an electric field to accelerate the xenon propellant, producing a low but steady thrust that is useful for many types of spacecraft, including military communications satellites already in orbit. " According to the Air Force, the aircraft is powered by "gallium arsenide solar cells with lithium ion batteries".

Prior to this attempt, previous X-37B flights had lasted 224 days, 469 days and 674 days. This last flight lasted 719 days. For clarification, the longest commercial flight takes 19 hours to go from Newark Liberty International Airport to New Jersey.

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