A secret US unmanned spacecraft lands in Florida after orbiting the Earth for three years, sparking UFO fears and sonic booms

A SECRET U.S. unmanned spacecraft crash landed in Florida after orbiting the Earth for three years, causing UFO fears and a sonic boom.

After a record-breaking 908 days in orbit, the solar-powered X-37B landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Saturday.

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“Since the X-37B’s first launch in 2010, it has broken records and provided our nation with an unrivaled ability to rapidly test and integrate new space technologies,” said Jim Chilton, Boeing senior vice president.

Boeing has developed X-37B that looks like a miniature space shuttle.

Its previous mission lasted 780 days.

However, the surprise landing shocked some Floridians after a loud sonic boom was heard early that morning.

A Twitter user thought someone had attacked his home. “Facebook and Twitter seem to confirm that’s what I thought, a sonic boom seems likely,” he wrote.

Another wrote: “Just woke up to a sonic boom shaking the house. I see reports from Tampa to Titusville. What the heck just flew over Florida? Was there a start?

It was confirmed by Space Force that the spacecraft successfully deorbited at 5:22 am.

During its three-year voyage, X-37B housed a service module conducting experiments for the Naval Research Laboratory, US Air Force Academy, and others.

The module separated from the spacecraft before de-orbiting to make the landing safer.

Experiments included a satellite called FalconSat-8, designed and built by academy cadets in conjunction with the Air Force Research Laboratory.

FalconSat-8 was deployed in October 2021 and is still in orbit.

Another experiment analyzed the effect of long-term exposure in space on seeds.

“The seed experiment will inform space crop production for future interplanetary missions and the establishment of permanently inhabited bases in space,” the military said.

The Naval Research Laboratory’s experience “successfully harnessed solar radiation outside of Earth’s atmosphere and aimed to transmit energy to the ground in the form of high-frequency microwave energy,” Space Force said.

“This mission underscores the Space Force’s focus on collaborating on space exploration and expanding cost-effective access to space for our partners inside and outside the Department of the Air Force,” said General Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations.

X-37B is powered by solar cells with lithium-ion batteries and orbited about 200 miles high.

The first mission in 2010 lasted about 224 days, while the second mission in 2011 lasted 468 days.

The spacecraft has flown over 1.3 billion miles and spent a total of 3,774 days in space.

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