Article Posted on : - Dec 04, 2010

VANDENBERG, CALIFORNIA (AP): The US Air Force's secrecy-shrouded X-37B unmanned space plane has returned to Earth after more than seven months in orbit on a classified mission.

Air Force spokesman Jeremy Eggers says the winged craft autonomously landed at 1:16 am PST (0916 GMT) Friday at Vandenberg Air Force Base on the California coast 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

The X-37B was launched by an Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 22, 2010, with maximum mission duration of 270 days.

Also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle, the Boeing-built spacecraft was originally a NASA project before being taken over by the military.