--- title: "Amateur Astronomer Spots US Air Force Space Plane Lurking in Orbit" description: "A Dutch astronomer and satellite tracker Ralf Vanderberg just spotted something extraordinary and rare: the U.S. Air Force’s top-secret X-37B space plane. Also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), the military craft looks like a scaled-down version of NASA’s Space Shuttle. It launched into space atop an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral, Florida […]" date: "2019-07-08" modified: "2019-07-16" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/amateur-astronomer-military-space-plane-orbit" categories: - "Space" tags: - "air force" - "NASA" - "space plane" - "the digest" - "x-37b" --- # Amateur Astronomer Spots US Air Force Space Plane Lurking in Orbit ![A Dutch astronomer and satellite tracker Ralf Vanderberg just spotted something extraordinary and rare: the U.S. Air Force's top-secret X-37B space plane.]() *\Image: Boeing/Victor Tangermann\* ## Top Secret Dutch astronomer and satellite tracker Ralf Vanderberg just spotted something extraordinary and rare: the U.S. Air Force's top-secret [X-37B space plane](). Also known as the Orbital Test Vehicle, the military craft looks like a scaled-down version of NASA's Space Shuttle and measures just 29 feet long with a wingspan of 15 feet. The craft spotted by Vanderberg is the fifth iteration, [launched into space]() atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 in 2017. "It is really a small object, even at only 300 kilometers \[186 miles\] altitude, so don't expect the detail level of ground-based images of the real space shuttle," Vandebergh [told *Space.com*](). "We can recognize a bit of the nose, payload bay and tail of this mini-shuttle, with even a sign of some smaller detail." ## Space-Based Mission Details surrounding the mission are extremely sparse. The Air Force squadron responsible for the mission oversees space-based demonstration operations, as well as gathering info on objects flying at high altitudes over Earth, according to *Space.com*. The X-37 project began in 1999 and was taken over from NASA by the U.S. Department of Defense in 2004. An earlier version, called the X-37A, completed a test flight [attached to the underbelly]() of California Spaceport Scaled Composites' White Knight carrier plane in 2005. Though we still don't know what the X-37 is doing up there, the episode is a startling reminder of the power of citizen science — even in the age of the militarization of space. **READ MORE:** [Skywatcher Captures Rare Image of Mysterious X-37B Military Space Plane]() \[*Live Science*\] **More on X-37B:** *[SpaceX Just Launched Its “Secret Mission” for the U.S. Air Force]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()