美国空天军公开了X-37B空天飞机从地球轨道拍摄的照片，展示了该飞行器在2024年进行的实验。X-37B执行了一系列被称为“气动刹车”的首创机动，通过最小化燃料使用来安全地改变其轨道。该任务是X-37B的第七次任务，其轨道高度在地球上方150到500英里之间，旨在探索可重复使用的航天器技术并进行长期空间实验。X-37B最初由波音公司为NASA建造，后转移至DARPA，长度接近30英尺，约为NASA退役航天飞机的四分之一。此次任务将继续进行测试和实验，最终空天飞机将降落在跑道上。

📸 美国空天军发布了X-37B空天飞机在地球轨道拍摄的照片，展示了部分机身和展开的面板，背景是部分阴影的地球，用于确保飞行器的健康和安全。

🚀 X-37B执行了“气动刹车”机动，利用地球大气层的阻力来改变轨道，从而最大限度地减少燃料消耗。这种创新方法展示了空天军在国家安全任务中的突破性创新。

🔬 X-37B的任务是探索可重复使用的航天器技术，并进行长期空间实验，轨道高度在地球上方150到500英里之间。该项目最初由波音公司为NASA建造，后于2004年转移至DARPA。

📅 X-37B于2023年12月最新发射，目前正在继续进行测试和实验目标。在完成任务后，空天飞机将重返地球，降落在跑道上。

From time to time, the U.S. military shows glimpses of its X-37B spaceplane, which can travel to space for years at a time.

We just got another glimpse. The U.S. Space Force — which took the reins from the Air Force's expansive military operations in space in 2019 — has released a view the robotic craft took from Earth's orbit. You can see a portion of the X-37B and an outstretched panel above a view of a partially shadowed Earth.

"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] in 2024," 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."

This is the seventh mission of the X-37B, which orbits 150 to 500 miles above Earth to explore reusable space vehicle technologies and conduct long-term space experiments. The plane was originally built by Boeing for NASA, but the project transferred to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, in 2004. At nearly 30 feet long, it's one-fourth the size of NASA's retired Space Shuttle.

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The X-37B's "aerobraking" maneuver mentioned above involves using close passes by Earth's atmosphere to produce drag, ultimately allowing it to switch orbits without burning too much of its finite fuel.

"This novel and efficient series of maneuvers demonstrates the Space Force's commitment to achieving groundbreaking innovation as it conducts national security missions in space," former secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall explained in 2024.

But the spaceplane, which most recently launched in Dec. 2023, isn't coming back home just yet. The mission is "now continuing its test and experimentation objectives," the Space Force said. After that, the craft will plummet through our planet's atmosphere and land on a runway — an event the U.S. military has released images of in the past.

The military clearly wants to promote the X-37B's successes — without revealing too much about its outer space exploits.