A classified satellite launched by SpaceX on Sunday may be experiencing a classified failure:
Later on Monday afternoon another space reporter, Peter B. de Selding, reported on Twitter that he too had been hearing about problems with the satellite. "Zuma satellite from @northropgrumman may be dead in orbit after separation from @SpaceX Falcon 9, sources say," de Selding tweeted. "Info blackout renders any conclusion - launcher issue? Satellite-only issue? — impossible to draw."
Update: SpaceX said the Falcon 9 rocket performed nominally, but unnamed sources reportedly told the Wall Street Journal that the payload did not separate from the Falcon 9 second stage and that both fell into the ocean:
An expensive, highly classified U.S. spy satellite is presumed to be a total loss after it failed to reach orbit atop a Space Exploration Technologies Corp. rocket on Sunday, according to industry and government officials. Lawmakers and congressional staffers from the Senate and the House have been briefed about the botched mission, some of the officials said. The secret payload—code-named Zuma and launched from Florida on board a Falcon 9 rocket—is believed to have plummeted back into the atmosphere, they said, because it didn't separate as planned from the upper part of the rocket.
The WSJ report has been disputed. Space-Track has catalogued the Zuma payload as USA 280, international designation 2018-001A, catalog number 43098, but that doesn't necessarily mean Zuma survived. CelesTrak lists the status as operational (search 43098 in NORAD Catalog Number field).
If the mission did fail, SpaceX could also blame Northrup Grumman for using their own payload adapter.
Also at CBS News, SpaceFlight Insider, Bloomberg, Popular Mechanics, CNBC, and USA Today.
Related Stories
[Update: The launch of the secret payload was reportedly a success. The Stage 1 booster returned to the LZ-1 landing pad at Cape Canaveral and landed successfully. If you missed the launch, SpaceX usually posts a recorded copy a few hours after launch at the same YouTube location as the live stream.]
SpaceX's Mysterious Zuma Mission May Finally Take Flight Sunday
Originally planned for a November launch, the mysterious Zuma mission may finally go to space on Sunday evening. SpaceX has confirmed that its rocket, and the undisclosed national security payload, are ready for launch, and weather conditions appear to be generally favorable. The two-hour launch window opens at 8pm ET.
An undisclosed issue with the Falcon 9 rocket's fairing caused SpaceX to delay the launch for several weeks in November and eventually move the date forward to January 4. Earlier this week additional propellant loading tests contributed to further delays, as did "extreme weather" at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida—mostly gusty winds.
But now conditions for the mysterious mission are 80-percent go, weather-wise, in Florida. This is SpaceX's third classified mission, and arguably its most secretive flight for the US military. All that is publicly known about the Zuma payload is that it is a satellite manufactured for the US government by Northrop Grumman, and it is bound for low-Earth orbit.
SpaceX to Launch Classified Zuma Mission: 0100-0300 UTC on 8th (8:00-10:00 p.m. EST on 7th)
[Updated: 2018-01-23 @ 00:58 UTC --martyb]
A more recent article at Ars Technica notes SpaceX gets good news from the Air Force on the Zuma mission:
A little more than two weeks have passed since the apparent loss of the highly classified Zuma mission. Since then, SpaceX has publicly and privately stated that its Falcon 9 rocket performed nominally throughout the flight—with both its first and second stages firing as anticipated.
Now, the US Air Force seems to be backing the rocket company up. "Based on the data available, our team did not identify any information that would change SpaceX's Falcon 9 certification status," Lieutenant General John Thompson, commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center, told Bloomberg News. This qualified conclusion came after a preliminary review of data from the Zuma launch. That's according to Thompson, who said the Air Force will continue to review data from all launches.
[Original story follows]
Ars Technica has described how "far-right" critics of SpaceX (such as The Federalist) have attacked the company following the apparent failure to deploy a secretive "Zuma" spy satellite payload for the U.S. government. Northrop Grumman could be responsible for the failure of the payload to separate from the Falcon 9's second stage, but nobody will confirm that officially. During a recent hearing about commercial spaceflight, one Congressman brought up the claims of a Forbes hit piece written by the COO of an institute backed by the United Launch Alliance (ULA):
The U.S. Air Force will award five contracts for satellite launches later this year as part of its Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program:
The U.S. Air Force announced plans to award space launch contracts later this year for five satellites that include some of the military's most sensitive big-ticket payloads.
The competition comes less than two years since SpaceX became a legitimate competitor in a market that used to be entirely owned by United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Company. If SpaceX is able to win at least one or two launches in this next round of contracts, it would further cement its standing as a market disruptor and set the stage for the company to win even more military work when the larger Falcon Heavy rocket gets certified to fly government payloads.
The Air Force on Wednesday released a final request for proposals for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) launch services for two National Reconnaissance Office payloads, the fifth Space-Based Infrared System geosynchronous Earth orbit satellite, an Air Force Space Command mission dubbed AFSPC-44 and a secret surveillance mission code-named SilentBarker. Proposals are due April 16 and contracts are expected to be awarded in late 2018.
The Air Force recently stated that they "did not identify any information that would change SpaceX's Falcon 9 certification status" despite the recent failure of a secret "Zuma" payload to separate from a Falcon 9 rocket.
SpaceX, which is behind schedule in building a new launch facility at Boca Chica beach near Brownsville, Texas, has requested $5 million in additional funding from state lawmakers:
Northrop Grumman, rather than SpaceX, is reportedly responsible for the loss of a secret satellite (reportedly) worth $3.5 billion:
In early January, SpaceX adamantly denied rumors that it had botched the launch of a classified spy satellite called Zuma, and now, a new government probe has absolved the company of blame for the spacecraft's loss. Government investigators looking into the mission determined that a structure on top of the rocket, called the payload adapter, failed to deploy the satellite into orbit, The Wall Street Journal reports. That adapter was built by defense contractor Northrop Grumman, which means SpaceX isn't at fault for Zuma's demise.
This scenario aligns with what many speculated at the time. SpaceX launched Zuma on top of its Falcon 9 rocket on January 7th, and just a day later, reports started to surface that the satellite had fallen back to Earth and burned up in the atmosphere after the mission. However, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell claimed that the rocket performed as it was supposed to. "For clarity: after review of all data to date, Falcon 9 did everything correctly on Sunday night," she said in a statement. "If we or others find otherwise based on further review, we will report it immediately. Information published that is contrary to this statement is categorically false."
[...] Meanwhile, the payload adapter failure isn't a good look for Northrop Grumman, which is having a difficult time piecing together another important spacecraft right now: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. Northrop is the main contractor of the telescope and is currently integrating large pieces of the spacecraft at the company's facilities in Redondo Beach, California. However, NASA recently announced that James Webb's launch will have to be delayed until 2020, due to a number of mistakes and delays that were made at Northrop during the construction process.
SpaceX should demand to use its own payload adapters for any new classified/national security launches, because it will probably be granted in light of this "Beltway bandit" fiasco.
Previously: SpaceX's Mysterious Zuma Mission May Soon Take Flight
Rumors Swirl Around the Fate of the Secret "Zuma" Satellite Launched by SpaceX
Zuma Failure Emboldens SpaceX's ULA-Backed Critics; Gets Support from US Air Force [Updated]
Related: GAO: James Webb Space Telescope Launch Date Likely Will be Delayed (Again)
Launch of James Webb Space Telescope Delayed to May 2020, Could Exceed Budget Cap
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday January 09 2018, @03:26PM (4 children)
<sarcasm>I demand that this failed spy satellite be replaced, forthwith!! My continued health and welfare absolutely depend on the spy's capabilities to spy on me!! </sarcasm>
(gotta see what happens with that sarcasm tag . . . )
A MAN Just Won a Gold Medal for Punching a Woman in the Face
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @05:24PM (3 children)
And use explosive bolts this time!! Lowes does not sell them, no matter what you been told!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @05:36PM (2 children)
No, but Lowes charges aerospace space-qual rates for the bolts they sell. Fucking $1 for a little baggie of six bolts. I got one of those baggies of wood screws from HD, and one of the screws didn't even have any slots in the head for a screwdriver. It was smooth across. Before the box stores pushed out the Ace Hardware and all the smaller hardware stores, I used to be able to go to the bins, take out what I needed, and paid by the pound.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday January 09 2018, @05:59PM
You ain't seen nothin' til you've carefully measured a failed bolt, shopped around, and found that it was going to cost $50 or more. Sometimes, it's cheaper (and faster) to get the toolmakers to cut a bolt on the lathe, then throw it in an oven to harden it. But, our toolmakers aren't expert at hardening. They may not harden it enough, or they may overharden - it's just guesswork.
A MAN Just Won a Gold Medal for Punching a Woman in the Face
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 10 2018, @10:15AM
FYI - flat on top is called a "nail". </the more you know>
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DutchUncle on Tuesday January 09 2018, @03:49PM (11 children)
"OMFG it's not where we told everyone it was supposed to be!" . . . because it's somewhere else, maybe? because the announced mission profile was misdirection? How about putting up a satellite and having it go totally dormant for a while, so that it's harder for opposition to trace? If you're not thinking in paranoid double-dealing, you're not a candidate for the spy business.
(Score: 2) by Snow on Tuesday January 09 2018, @04:04PM (8 children)
Satellites are really easy to track by amateurs. It's a reasonable assumption that if it was actually still in orbit, someone would call them out.
(Score: 2) by KilroySmith on Tuesday January 09 2018, @04:27PM
Agreed - to my layman's understanding, there really isn't much of a reason to try to hide a satellite. Russia, China, the EU ground based radar can track anything larger than a baseball, and amateur satellites can track basketball sized items, so unless this billion-dollar satellite was composed of hundreds of baseball-sized mini-sats it'll be known whether it is in orbit or not.
Unless, of course, the only people meant to be fooled by this cover story are Americans. Perhaps this satellite is just another step in establishing the Trumpocracy!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Gaaark on Tuesday January 09 2018, @05:14PM (6 children)
Can you hide a satellite? Stealth equipped?
I dunno... serious question. Is it possible? Can you hide it this way and keep it dormant so it can't be tracked by emissions and then activated when needed?
Seriously. Possible?
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 3, Interesting) by mhajicek on Tuesday January 09 2018, @05:51PM
I should think so. If you can stealth an airplane a satellite should be easy.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @07:57PM
A reasonable assumption is that most stealth satellites share launches with decoys. The decoys could be useful themselves.
Stealth satellites have been seen due to operational mistakes. For example, a satellite can be stealth when seen from one direction but not from another. Canadian amateurs spotted one that wasn't visible while passing over Russia. There was a "failed" launch with a debris cloud... and then a chunk of the debris was spotted moving in an obviously controlled manner.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Tuesday January 09 2018, @08:01PM (2 children)
So-called "stealth" technologies in current use provide camouflage from radar.
Could you add that to a satellite? Sure, but it'll mean leaving something else off to make weight.
And it won't keep amateurs with telescopes from tracking it. Visible light. So it wouldn't matter in this context. It might help if someone tried to shoot it down with a radar guided missile though.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Tuesday January 09 2018, @08:15PM (1 child)
My first thought was black paint. But then, the moon is quite black, and yet still very clearly visible …
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by Arik on Tuesday January 09 2018, @08:44PM
What they detect visually is when the satellite moves between the observer and a star.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 10 2018, @10:17AM
According to TFA they are hiding it in the ocean.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @04:20PM
(Score: 2) by driverless on Tuesday January 09 2018, @10:54PM
The problem was the name, if they'd called it Ramaphosa instead of Zuma it wouldn't have failed.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @04:17PM
That's what's so funny! I switched spy satellites when your back was turned! Ha ha! You fool!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Sulla on Tuesday January 09 2018, @04:23PM (5 children)
If i had a new fancy expensive super secret spy satellite I would tell people its broken too. Super serious its broken definitely not watching you walk your dog at 123 evergreen terrace road, and not that I would know but you might want to get that mole on your shoulder looked at.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday January 09 2018, @04:39PM (1 child)
I guess you need better calibration procedures. The mole is on my butt.
(Score: 2) by edIII on Tuesday January 09 2018, @07:12PM
Are you saying we can literally see your asscrack from space?
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday January 09 2018, @05:03PM (1 child)
It's difficult to hide a satellite. Impossible? Idk, I read a conspiratorial comment over on Ars...
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @05:27PM
It easy hide. Just park it behind another satellite. It works is babies!
(Score: 4, Interesting) by maxwell demon on Tuesday January 09 2018, @08:27PM
Actually I'd probably disguise is as some ordinary satellite, where some of the instruments "fail" directly after launch. The still working instruments give a perfect explanation of the satellites purpose, while the "failed" instruments were never there, but instead were placeholders for the secret instruments. And of course the official mission is carefully chosen so the satellite has to fly over the regions of interest for the secret mission.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by TheGratefulNet on Tuesday January 09 2018, @04:40PM (2 children)
mp3 players.
not sure what the purpose was to launch them into orbit, but I guess they just didn't sell well down here.
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday January 09 2018, @05:16PM
and all the atari shit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_video_game_burial [wikipedia.org]
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @06:05PM
In space no one can hear Wayne Newton's "Danke Schoen".
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday January 09 2018, @04:50PM (7 children)
It did not separate and fell into the ocean? Maybe it did. Or maybe that's what they want you to think. Or maybe they were deliberately vague (or deceptive) on when the payload fairing separated. Maybe it separated later and they put it into a different orbit than anyone thinks. This is a friggin' spy satellite. It is unclear which branch of government is actually launching it. Maybe there was a real satellite and a dummy, the dummy didn't separate and fell to the ocean along with 2nd stage, but the real satellite is in some classified orbit. Maybe such a dummy that didn't separate is why there were so many delays of this launch -- apparently related to, of all things, the payload fairing!
In fact, you can't be sure what to believe. Do you think a satellite by a yet unknown TLA is going to tell you anything resembling the truth about it?
The story is funny because they don't want to put egg on SpaceX's face. So it has to 'fail' somehow late into the launch.
Motorcycle helmets should be required by law to have airbags inside to protect the rider. What about seatbelts?
(Score: 5, Interesting) by takyon on Tuesday January 09 2018, @05:11PM
Spy satellite != stealth satellite. Unless it does.
In updating the story I came to the conclusion that Northrup Grumman is probably at fault (if there is in fact a fault) for a few reasons:
1. SpaceX is acting like everything went fine (on their end) and is now preparing for Falcon Heavy instead of going into "How did this happen?" mode.
2. SpaceX said that the rocket performed nominally. This could be their coded way of saying "We did everything right, someone else fucked up".
3. Northrup Grumman integrated their own payload adapter (instead of using SpaceX's) at a separate location. SpaceX didn't get to look at the satellite at all?
4. The mission was already delayed once due to a problem with the adapter/fairing?
That said, there are a lot of Musky apologists online, including me. So who knows? I didn't see any significant updates to the story when I checked a few minutes ago.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday January 09 2018, @05:18PM (5 children)
Could you launch a satellite without anyone knowing? Like from Area 51? Just wondering if the US or China could do something like that without it being known.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Tuesday January 09 2018, @05:55PM (3 children)
Unlikely, but not necessarily impossible. Rockets are loud and bright, and launches tend to show up on seismic sensors.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @07:23PM
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday January 09 2018, @07:27PM (1 child)
The whole argument about nuclear war with Kim is a cover-up so that the US can test nuclear weapons, and launch spy satellites, without domestic consequences.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday January 10 2018, @03:07PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 10 2018, @09:07AM
Can you launch a rocket without anyone noticing? No. And if you can, that rocket will not be used to launch satellites, it will be sitting in a nuclear silo somewhere. Once you start using it, you give the enemy every chance of learning to detect it.
Can you launch a satellite without anyone noticing? Yes. Just launch it on the same rocket as another bigger satellite. Then pick the optimal time to have the the two satellites separate, long after the launch, so nobody is expecting anything (it's always harder to hide things from people who are actively trying to find something).
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Ken_g6 on Tuesday January 09 2018, @04:51PM
If the de-orbit burn for the upper stage was normal [soylentnews.org], I strongly doubt there was trouble with detaching the satellite. First, if they had problems detaching, I would expect them to leave the whole upper stage in orbit for several orbits trying to correct that problem. And second, even if for some reason they didn't try to continue the mission, a de-orbit burn with the satellite attached should have had significantly different characteristics from a normal de-orbit burn.
(Score: 5, Informative) by takyon on Tuesday January 09 2018, @05:22PM
http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/space-exploration-technologies/secret-zuma-mission-lost/ [spaceflightinsider.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @05:23PM
someone didn't update their windows defender signatures over at space x. tisk, tisk.
(Score: 1) by jshmlr on Wednesday January 10 2018, @12:09PM
Elon: Hello GEICO? I'd like to file a claim....
Need nothing, then see what happens.