Which makes me wonder about this:
“The X-37B executed a series of first-of-kind maneuvers, called aerobraking, to safely change its orbit using minimal fuel.”
They had to have done that in a closer orbit. There is no air out that far right?
Correct. It has to operate in all those orbits, LEO to geosynchronous.
Right. Perhaps it’s in an elliptical orbit, which at its low point would bring it closer to Earth. The photo could’ve been taken from the high point in its orbit.
Whereas “aero” typically means related to air, in this case I believe they are using the second definition which is relating to aircraft (they do call it a space plane). I have no idea what aerobraking is or how it works, but obviously it does NOT depend on the flow of air over a wing. Most likely it is a new type of highly efficient thruster.
Perhaps they should have called it Space Jamming (/sarc)
Not if the orbit is highly eccentric.