A sonic boom shocked Central Floridians early Sunday morning after the Air Force landed a secret military aircraft at Kennedy Space Center.

The U.S. Air Force tweeted Sunday “The Air Force #X37B #OTV4 has returned from obit and landed safely at @NASAKennedy.”

The X37B is an unmanned secret military shuttle, which has been orbiting the Earth for more than 700 days, the Air Force reported.

The landing marks the first time the X-37B has landed at KSC using the same Shuttle Landing Facility runway as NASA’s manned orbiters.

The U.S. Air Force said, "X-37B program is the newest and most advanced re-entry spacecraft that performs risk reduction, experimentation and concept of operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies.”

About the Author

Keep Reading

Ernie Suggs, a reporter at the AJC since 1997, reviews a selection of articles he has contributed to during his time with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as of Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Featured

University of Georgia students are seen entering and leaving the main Library on the Athens campus on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez