It looks a lot like a miniature space shuttle and for a very good reason. The X-37 Neutral Buoyancy Lab Simulator can be deployed into Earth-orbit from the space shuttle, or launched into space by the proposed Military Space Plane. This full-scale mockup is currently on display at the New Mexico Museum of Space History, sharing space inside the Daisy Track Exhibit Building. Museum Registrar Mike Smith, far right, along with volunteer Gene Mangold, took a closer look at the X-37 shortly after it went on display. Inside the mock-up is a satellite model and telescope model, either of which could have been launched or used remotely. The X-37's primary mission is the deployment and retrieval of satellites in orbit with a rapid turnaround and minimal costs.

The X-37 display is courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. It is 27 feet long, with a 15-foot wingspan and a gross weight of 4500 pounds. In may of 1999, it was successfully tested at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The lab is a facility that allows astronauts to train on spacecraft underwater in a near zero gravity environment.