The X-37B space plane, a secretive shuttle-like vehicle currently orbiting the earth at 17,000 miles per hour, will be staying in space longer than originally planned, the Associated Press reports.
The 29-foot solar-powered craft had an original mission of 270 days and, according to RedOrbit, the X-37B should have landed on Wednesday at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
"We initially planned for a nine-month mission, which we are roughly at now, but we will continue to extend the mission as circumstances allow," Lt. Col Tom McIntyre, the vehicle's systems program director, told the Los Angeles Times. "Keeping the X-37 in orbit will provide us with additional experimentation opportunities and allow us to extract the maximum value out of the mission."
