This craft was bought by a government bureaucracy, right? So it's just about possible that nobody knows.
"Absolutely, we in the 67th Orbital Wing operate the X-37B, but it's there to fly missions for the National Space Operations Office"
"The National Space Operations Office's mission is to develop operational capabilities in support of our country's strategic priorities, as implemented by the Near Space Command."
"NSPACECOM is proud to be providing this unique Earth-to-Orbit capability in support of front-line forces. The X-37B is currently deployed with the 67th Orbital Wing. You'd have to ask them for details of the current mission."
That has some intriguing possibilities - all I need to do is find five or more government departments and persuade each of them they are working for the other - and the project is the effect on UK citizens of being given a billion dollars (I of course am the first test subject, direct deposit on my please)
I think this may be because 'no one knows' is the media equivalent to 'nobody that will talk to us knows'. Effectively that in turn translates into 'nobody in the general public knows' and what with headline space being expensive (if you use shorter headlines you can use larger letters) that got shortened to 'no one knows'.
It could have been shortened even further to just "". Then there would be nothing misleading in the headline at all.
As it is, the headline suggests that some plane accidentally crossed the Kármán Line, has been floating out there for nearly 2 years, and not even the pilot or ATC could work out how it happened.
> what with headline space being expensive (if you use shorter headlines you can use larger letters)
At least one of the national newspapers in Norway found a way around the "need" for larger letters: "War type". Can't get larger letters in? Use a suitably aggressive looking font, and you'll make foreigners think you're writing about war when you're writing about a tax increase or the latest minor political scandal.
"Absolutely, we in the 67th Orbital Wing operate the X-37B, but it's there to fly missions for the National Space Operations Office"
"The National Space Operations Office's mission is to develop operational capabilities in support of our country's strategic priorities, as implemented by the Near Space Command."
"NSPACECOM is proud to be providing this unique Earth-to-Orbit capability in support of front-line forces. The X-37B is currently deployed with the 67th Orbital Wing. You'd have to ask them for details of the current mission."