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| X-37B US military space plane launches for third flight | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| A notoriously mysterious military space plane operated by the US Air Force has launched from Florida, the third flight in a secretive test programme. | |
| The reusable, unmanned craft is designed to operate in Earth orbit for extended periods. Its prior missions in 2010 and 2011 lasted 224 and 469 days. | |
| The US government kept the timing of Tuesday's launch secret and has not said how long the mission will last. | |
| That has prompted fevered speculation as to the craft's ultimate purpose. | That has prompted fevered speculation as to the craft's ultimate purpose. |
| Tuesday's launch had been pushed back from October, delayed by two satellite launches. Patrick Air Force Base in Florida gave notice of a hazard from a launch in a window between 15:45 and 22:15 GMT (10:45 to 17:15 local time). | Tuesday's launch had been pushed back from October, delayed by two satellite launches. Patrick Air Force Base in Florida gave notice of a hazard from a launch in a window between 15:45 and 22:15 GMT (10:45 to 17:15 local time). |
| The X-37B craft, designed by aerospace giant Boeing, shares more than just a passing similarity to the now-retired space shuttle. | The X-37B craft, designed by aerospace giant Boeing, shares more than just a passing similarity to the now-retired space shuttle. |
| It is just a quarter the size of the shuttle, but is launched on a rocket - the Atlas V. It is coated in thermal tiles to withstand the heat of re-entry, after which it lands on its own gear autonomously. | It is just a quarter the size of the shuttle, but is launched on a rocket - the Atlas V. It is coated in thermal tiles to withstand the heat of re-entry, after which it lands on its own gear autonomously. |
| The stated mission of the craft, according to the US Air Force, is an "experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform". | The stated mission of the craft, according to the US Air Force, is an "experimental test program to demonstrate technologies for a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform". |
| But the latest mission in particular sparked speculation that the craft was spying on the Chinese space lab Tiangong-1 - an idea that has since been largely discredited. | But the latest mission in particular sparked speculation that the craft was spying on the Chinese space lab Tiangong-1 - an idea that has since been largely discredited. |
| When it returned from its second mission in June, programme manager Lt Col Tom McIntyre said: "We knew from post-flight assessments from the first mission that OTV-1 could have stayed in orbit longer. So one of the goals of this mission was to see how much farther we could push the on-orbit duration." | When it returned from its second mission in June, programme manager Lt Col Tom McIntyre said: "We knew from post-flight assessments from the first mission that OTV-1 could have stayed in orbit longer. So one of the goals of this mission was to see how much farther we could push the on-orbit duration." |
| But any official mission objectives seems set once again to remain secret. | But any official mission objectives seems set once again to remain secret. |