The U.S. Space Force released the first-ever public photo of its secretive X-37B space plane in orbit on February 20, 2024.

Taken during its seventh mission, the image shows the space plane’s solar panel and open payload bay, with Earth in the background.

Launched on December 28, 2023, atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, the X-37B is operating in a higher orbit than before, testing new technologies like aerobraking, which uses atmospheric drag to change orbit with minimal fuel, Space.com has reported.

The Space Force has kept details about the mission and the plane’s experiments under wraps, but it’s known that the X-37B is a test platform for advanced space technologies.

Written by B.C. Begley