US military shows glimpse of top-secret X-37B — spaceplane that never lands

For years, it circled the Earth in silence. No crew, no live updates, just a small, black-winged spacecraft vanishing into the void, leaving behind little more than speculation.

The X-37B, America's top-secret advanced space plane, has been weaving through Earth's orbit, its purpose shrouded in classified briefings and Pentagon denials.

Now, for the first time, the US Space Force has given the world a glimpse of what it sees. A single image, released quietly through the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS), shows part of the X-37B's structure, with the distant blue curve of Earth in the background.

The photo was taken sometime in 2024, officials say, though they won’t say exactly when.

The spacecraft itself — a reusable orbital vehicle built by Boeing — has been up there for over a year now. Launched on December 28, 2023, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, it embarked on its seventh mission, known simply as OTV-7.

Unlike all its previous flights, which stayed relatively close to Earth, the current mission is designed to push further in the cosmos.

Orbit's sweet slowdown

"An X-37B onboard camera, used to ensure the health and safety of the vehicle, captures an image of Earth while conducting experiments in (highly elliptical orbit)," the Space Force posted on X.

"The X-37B executed a series of first-of-kind maneuvers, called aerobraking, to safely change its orbit using minimal fuel."

Aerobraking is a manoeuvre that could change how future space missions conserve fuel by using the upper layers of the atmosphere to slow down instead of firing rockets.

Aerobraking, in theory, allows a spacecraft to alter its course without burning through its reserves. It's a delicate, almost surgical process.

Get it right, and the craft extends its life, moves more efficiently, and adapts to different missions without needing a costly refuel. Get it wrong, and there’s no safety net, just the unforgiving physics of space.

Deep-space missions

Beyond that, the US military isn't saying much. According to the Space Force, the X-37B is the "most advanced re-entry spacecraft that performs risk reduction, experimentation and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies."

The uncrewed test vehicle is nearly 30 feet long and has a wingspan of about 15 feet. With a max takeoff weight of 11,000 pounds, it could accommodate payloads of up to 500 pounds, as per Business Insider.

Officials insist the X-37B is a research platform, a testbed for new technologies. They've hinted at experiments on radiation exposure, sensors and next-generation space capabilities.

NASA, at one point, used the spacecraft to see how spaceflight affects biological materials, research that could be crucial for deep-space missions.

But that's not the complete story, or at least not the one people believe.

To its critics, the X-37B looks like something more than just a science lab in the sky. It's unmanned, stealthy, and built to stay in orbit for years. That has also led to speculation: Is it testing surveillance technology?

No timeline for return

X-37B may be part of something bigger as China, too, has been developing its own secretive space plane technology for years.

Details are scarce at the moment, but Beijing's growing military space ambitions suggest that both countries are inching toward a new kind of competition, one that doesn't play out on land or sea but in the vast, silent battlefield above.

For now, the X-37B remains up there, moving unseen. There's no timeline for its return, according to media reports. It could stay in orbit for another year, maybe longer.

The mission is "now continuing its test and experimentation objectives," the Space Force said in its latest update. And when it finally comes back, it will land quietly, without warning, before disappearing once again behind classified doors.