Elon Musk's SpaceX launch is a secret government
mission
Set to launch from pad 39A during a two-hour window that opens at 8
p.m., the brand new nine-engine rocket will take a payload to low Earth orbit on
a mission codenamed "Zuma" for Northrop Grumman. The first stage of the Falcon 9
will then descend for a landing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Landing
Zone 1, generating a window-rattling sonic boom along the way.
Unlike other mysterious launches, such as ones for the National
Reconnaissance Office, a member of the intelligence community and the Department
of Defense, a spokesman for Northrop Grumman identified the payload customer
only as the "U.S. government."
"The U.S. government assigned Northrop Grumman the responsibility of
acquiring launch services for this mission," said Lon Rains, communications
director at Northrop Grumman's Space Systems Division and Space Park Design
Center of Excellence in California. "We have procured the Falcon 9 launch
service from SpaceX."
"This event represents a cost effective approach to space access for
government missions," he said.
Neither SpaceX nor Northrop Grumman would provide additional
details.
The fact that the rocket's booster will return for a propulsive
landing at Cape Canaveral, however, reiterates the low-orbit insertion of the
payload and could also indicate that it's comparatively lighter than previous
SpaceX missions. Heavier satellites typically require drone ship landings or
expendable first stages due to fuel constraints.
Zuma marks the 17th mission of the year for SpaceX - more than
doubling last year's total of eight launches - and, if successful, the 20th
landing of a Falcon 9 first stage since 2015.
Launch Thursday
Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9
Mission: Zuma for Northrop Grumman / U.S. government
Launch Time: 8 p.m.
Launch Window: 10 p.m.
Launch Pad: 39A at Kennedy Space Center
Weather: 80 percent "go"
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