Quietly orbiting Earth since March, the U.S. Air Force's second X-37B space plane will surpass its 270-day design life Wednesday with no sign the clandestine spacecraft is landing any time soon. Artist's concept of the X-37B space plane in orbit. Credit: Boeing The X-37B has been in orbit since March 5, when an Atlas 5 rocket hauled the two-ton, 29-foot-long spacecraft into space from Cape Canaveral, Fla. "On-orbit experimentation is continuing," said Air Force Maj. Tracy Bunko, an spokesperson for the Secretary of the Air Force. "Though we cannot predict when that will be complete, we are learning new things about the vehicle every day, which makes the mission a very dynamic process." The...
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