We do know, however, that past missions have served to study the effect of long-duration space exposure, including space radiation, on seeds.
“Space is a vast and unforgiving environment where testing technologies is critical to the success of future endeavors,” Michelle Parker, vice president of Boeing’s Space Mission Systems, said in another statement last month. “There is no other space platform as capable, flexible and maneuverable as the X-37B, and its next demonstration will be another proof point that this test vehicle sets the pace of innovation.”
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in a statement that the craft is conducting “national security missions in space.” Some suspect this to include military surveillance. Many are thus wondering what might have prompted the agency to release information about the X-37B’s latest maneuver.