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No one without the right clearance knows exactly what the US Air Force\'s X-37B spaceplanes do in orbit, but it must be a lot given the cumulative years they\'ve spent up there The vehicles are sparking a resurgence of interest in spaceplanes as a necessary ingredient for expanding society to space Less than five minutes after liftoff, the United Launch Alliance webcast cut away from the Atlas V rocket before its payload shroud opened to expose its cargo: a US Air Force X-37B space-plane carrying orbital experiments housed inside its payload bay The online audience was treated to Boeing, ULA, Air Force and US Space Force leaders thanking first responders for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic The Air Force, which owns two X-37Bs, and the Space Force, which flies them, like to offer tantalizing glimpses but few details of the autonomous spaceplanes that have spent about eight years in orbit over six missions
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