The sonic boom of an unmanned space plane returning to earth after two years in space startled many Florida residents Sunday, CNN reports.
The Air Force’s X-37B landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing facility before 8:00 a.m. Sunday, breaking the sound barrier as it flew from orbit.
Thought somebody crashed into my garage … It was just a sonic boom Thanks @NASA for the scare!
— Felicity Smoak (@6thGreekLetter) May 7, 2017
It’s unclear exactly what the space plane does in orbit, but the Air Force says on the plane’s current mission it performed “risk reduction, experimentation and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies,” according to a press release.
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This mission set a record for the longest unmanned space flight at 718 days. The plane’s other missions lasted 224 days, 469 days, and 674 days, according to Air Space Magazine. It will return to orbit on another mission later in 2017.
“The hard work of the X-37B OTV team and the 45th Space Wing successfully demonstrated the flexibility and resolve necessary to continue the nation’s advancement in space,” Randy Walden, director of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, said in a statement.
“The ability to land, refurbish, and launch from the same location further enhances the OTV’s ability to rapidly integrate and qualify new space technologies.”
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