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  • US Air Force

    Drone is the first spacecraft in years to use a key Shuttle runway

    by 
    Jon Fingas
    Jon Fingas
    05.07.2017

    Kennedy Space Center is slowly coming back to life, but you almost wouldn't know it by looking at the Shuttle Landing Facility. While it has seen some limited use for aircraft in recent years, it hasn't been used for an orbital mission landing since... well, the last Space Shuttle in 2011. At last, though, it's back to serving its core purpose. The US Air Force's X-37B space drone has touched down at the facility after completing its fourth mission. The highly secretive, autonomous spacecraft could have landed as early as February, but stayed aloft those extra few months for unknown reasons.