We've never before seen the mysterious spacecraft in orbit, and only the U.S. Air Force knows what its doing up there

On Friday, the Space Force published a picture taken last year from a camera mounted on the secretive X-37B space plane while high above the Earth. Space.com notes that the “one other glimpse” of the plane in space was while it was “deploying from Falcon Heavy’s upper stage” during its December 2023 launch.

According to Boeing, the X-37B has a body and landing operation similar to the Space Shuttle, however it is smaller, measuring in at just one-fourth the size of the shuttle. "The X-37B design combines the best of aircraft and spacecraft into an affordable system that is easy to operate and maintain," the description read.

B, which has been in space since December 2023 as part of its seventh mission, remains shrouded in mystery. The United States has not disclosed the shuttle's true purpose while orbiting, nor what data it collects.

This photo—which conspicuously does not include the aircraft it was taken from—was captured during the X-37B’s seventh mission. Slowing Down. The release marks the first tim