This image provided by United States Space Force on Feb. 21, 2025, shows an X-37B onboard camera, used to ensure the health and safety of the vehicle, captures an image of Earth while conducting experiments in HEO in 2024.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- The U.S. military's classified mini space shuttle returned to Earth on Friday after circling the world for 434 days.

The space plane blasted into orbit from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in December 2023 on a secret mission. Launched by SpaceX, the X-37B vehicle carried no people, just military experiments.

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