The Boeing X-37B is a classified Space Force spaceplane that spends years in orbit, then lands itself on a runway - and its seven missions are rewriting the rules for reusable spacecraft.
VectorThe Boeing X-37B has autonomously landed on a runway after missions lasting up to 908 days in orbit, blending aviation and spaceflight engineering across seven missions since 2010.
VectorThe Boeing X-37B has completed six fully autonomous orbital missions since 2010 - including one lasting 908 days - and lands itself on a runway every time.
VectorThe Air Force's X-20 Dyna-Soar was a pilot-flown reusable orbital spacecraft canceled in 1963 - and its engineering legacy directly shaped the Space Shuttle, X-37B, and Dream Chaser.
VectorHow Sierra Space's Dream Chaser spaceplane returns from orbit at just 1.5 g and lands on a runway like an airliner.
VectorHow Sierra Space's Dream Chaser lands like an airplane on a runway, and why the Space Shuttle's lifting-body shape keeps coming back.
VectorSierra Space's Dream Chaser spaceplane, first vehicle Tenacity, aims to land from orbit on a runway like an airliner.
VectorSierra Space's Dream Chaser is a lifting-body spaceplane that lands on a runway like an airplane, returning fragile cargo gently instead of splashing into the ocean.
VectorSierra Space's Dream Chaser is a lifting-body spaceplane built to land on ordinary runways with a gentle re-entry, but it hasn't yet flown to orbit.
VectorSierra Space's Dream Chaser spaceplane is finally nearing its first orbital flight - a runway-landing cargo vehicle decades in the making.
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