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a-zA-Z0-9$_.+!*'(),- writes:

CNN's Amanda Jackson reports:

"The Air Force's unmanned aircraft, X-37B, landed successfully Sunday morning at NASA's Kennedy Space Center -- but it didn't come down quietly.

The space plane sent a sonic boom that rattled east-central Florida before 8 a.m., waking residents from their weekend slumber.

The X-37B, which looks like a small plane, made history by landing for the first time in Florida instead of California. It also set the on-orbit endurance record at 718 days, or almost two years. " - http://www.wmtw.com/article/air-force-s-mysterious-space-plane-lands-wakes-up-florida/9617089 [wmtw.com]

Speculation on it's role or mission includes: "whether the U.S. has deployed a space-trotting spy vehicle or weapons platform for taking down satellites." http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2413046,00.asp [pcmag.com]

Additional coverage:
* "Air Force's X-37B Space Plane Lands in Florida After Record-Breaking Secret Mission" http://www.space.com/36420-x-37b-space-plane-secret-mission-florida-landing.html [space.com]

Background:

* Secret Missions of the X-37B https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7qgZKh5X0U [youtube.com]
* US Air Force's Secretive X-37B Space Plane (Infographic) http://www.space.com/75-x-37b-spaceplane.html [space.com]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-37 [wikipedia.org]
* Shenlong Space Plane: China’s Answer To U.S. X-37B Drone? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/10/shenlong-space-plane-china_n_2110084.html [huffingtonpost.com]
* X-37B Likely Spying on China’s Space Station https://www.defensetech.org/2012/01/06/x-37b-likely-spying-on-chinas-space-station/ [defensetech.org]

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