US Air Force's Secret X-37B Space Plane Is Not Likely To Return Soon, Officials Say

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) has been far too long accused of acquiring alien technology. Though nothing has been proved yet, it does not stop conspiracy theorists from making the allegations. It seems these speculations have again picked up pace after the officials revealed that the U.S. Air Force's secret X-37B space plane has no intentions of returning back to Earth anytime soon.

The U.S. Air Force's secret X-37B space plane was launched off Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 20, 2016. This was the fourth plane that was sent to space under the USAF X-37B program. The previous one returned after spending 675 days in space, so no one expected the present X-37B to return any sooner.

However, discussions on its return were stirred after NASA SpaceFlight.com posted an update. It stated that the Shuttle Landing Facility of spaceport Florida is preparing to host the end of mission landing of the USAF X-37B space plane.

Later, the USAF officials clarified that the preparations are a part of a test exercise. Also, the space plane will not be making its landing that soon, The Sun reported.

Regarding what the U.S. Air Force's secret X-37B space plane is actually doing up there is known only to the USAF officials. There are many speculations regarding the same, most of which state that the plane is engaged in testing novel space hardware and technologies, just like the Hall-effect thruster. It was kept a secret from the rest of the world until the launch of the space plane, Foxtrot Alpha reported.

While some say that it is meant for surveillance purposes and setting up mini satellites in space, some others are of the opinion that the U.S. Air Force's secret X-37B space plane is specifically designed for autonomous spaceflight software testing and dropping high- altitude bombs on targeted countries. Nonetheless, nobody knows the truth for sure.