Mystery Space Plane Coming Home, Still No Clue What It Does



The X-37, an unmanned spacecraft that resembles a miniature version of the space shuttle, is set to land at Vandenberg Air Force Base as early as this week - more than seven months after it was launched into orbit.
The Air Force, which has been developing the X-37 pilotless space plane, has kept the ultimate purpose of the program hush-hush. It was launched April 22 from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

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So, the world's most mysterious UAV is set to return to Earth after spending nearly eight months in space where it did lord only knows what.

Courtesy of the LA Times:
The Little Spaceplane That Could came on-line as the U.S. began to wind down space shuttle ops. As many know, space shuttle missions often split public NASA missions with secret Defense Department missions launching spy payloads into orbit. Well, the Boeing-built X-37 looks a lot like a mini space shuttle, complete with what looks like a cargo bay for launching or recovering mystery payloads. (Many people speculate that it is used to ferry weapons into space.

Source: http://nation.foxnews.com/air-force/2010/12/02/mystery-space-plane-coming-home-still-no-clue-what-it-does