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Top-secret government space plane returns from mysterious 434-day mission

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The U.S. government's secretive X-37B space plane has returned to Earth after a 434-day mission in orbit.

The uncrewed spacecraft was launched on Dec. 29, 2023 , riding a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket into a highly elliptical orbit around Earth .

During the mission, the autonomous space plane also carried out various experiments related to space radiation and "space domain awareness technology".