The U.S. military's classified mini space shuttle returned to Earth on Friday after circling the world for 434 days.
Launched by SpaceX from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in December 2023, the X-37B vehicle carried no people, just military experiments.
It touched down at Vandenberg Space Force Base at 2:22 a.m.
The landing was not announced until hours after the fact. Many people in the Lompoc area reported windows shaking and hearing the plane as it came in for a landing.
It was the seventh flight of one of these test vehicles. Space Force officials said the mission successfully demonstrated the ability to change orbits by using atmospheric drag to slow down, saving fuel.
It's "an exciting new chapter in the X-37B program," program director Lt. Col. Blaine Stewart said in a statement.
First launched in 2010, the Boeing-made, reusable space planes have spent as long as 908 days in space at a time. They're 29 feet long with a wingspan of almost 15 feet.
