The newspaper "La Libertà" wrote that a group of amateur astronomers spotted him, while he was speeding in front of star Arturo, the 'top secret' orbit of the experimental space plane X-37B Otv, the miniature version of the Space Shuttle that the aeronautics US military launched around the Earth on 7 September last aboard the Space × Falcon 9 rocket which left Cape Canaveral.
One of the latest revealing sightings bears the signature of Canadian amateur astronomer Kevin Fetter, who filmed the vehicle as it sped past the bright star Arturo: the video is posted on Spaceweather.com.
"The spacecraft was as bright as a fourth-magnitude star, absolutely visible to the naked eye," says Fetter.
«Last April I saw him pass in front of the Moon: a real spectacle!». The X-37B Otv vehicle represents a privileged platform for conducting orbital tests with which to develop new technologies for American defense, with potential applications in the field of reconnaissance and surveillance.
Its orbit around the planet has never been made public by the US government and its mission is considered 'confidential'.
The secret, however, did not last long, since amateur astronomers and observers of satellites began to sight the vehicle, allowing in fact to calculate its orbit. Anyone wishing to look for the spaceplane in the sky, where to do is read the predictions of its passages published on the site heavens-above.com, under the name Otv5 (USA 277).