Loud booms heard in Florida marked the return of the X-37B, the U.S. Space Force’s uncrewed orbital test vehicle, after the secretive space plane’s sixth and longest mission yet.

After 908 days in orbit, the Boeing vehicle touched down at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida early Saturday morning.

NASA conducted a number of experiments during the trip, the Space Force said in a statement.

It was also the first X-37B mission to include a service module, which the Space Force described as “a ring attached to the rear of the vehicle expanding the number of experiments that can be hosted during a mission.”

Beyond that, not much is known about the X-37B’s missions. Officials have released scant information about a few experiments that took place aboard the latest flight.

https://www.npr.org/2022/11/12/1136308108/space-force-plane-mission-x37b