Posted By: F4UDash4
Secret "Zuma" Satellite, Where Is It? - 01/13/18 02:33 AM
Anyone following this story? SpaceX launched a government satellite referred to as "Zuma" on the 8th. The next day there are reports that the launch failed. But SpaceX says that their Falcon 9 performed as it should have. No one will even say what government department really owns the satellite, DoD, NRO etc. And no one will give a straight answer on what happened to Zuma, if anything.
What we do know is that the Falcon 9 first stage performed well and landed back at Kennedy Space Center. Also a commercial pilot over Khartoum took a picture of the Falcon 9 second stage venting excess fuel as it prepared to re-enter, heading for its planned Indian Ocean splashdown area. Since the picture was taken 2 and a half hours after launch and over Khartoum that means the second stage (carrying Zuma) did reach orbit (an orbit takes about 90 minutes, so it was well into it's second orbit).
Personally I believe this was all planned out this way before the launch. Zuma is probably a stealth satellite not detectable visually or by radar and it's inorbit just as planned right now. The whole "we lost it" story is just that, a story.
What we do know is that the Falcon 9 first stage performed well and landed back at Kennedy Space Center. Also a commercial pilot over Khartoum took a picture of the Falcon 9 second stage venting excess fuel as it prepared to re-enter, heading for its planned Indian Ocean splashdown area. Since the picture was taken 2 and a half hours after launch and over Khartoum that means the second stage (carrying Zuma) did reach orbit (an orbit takes about 90 minutes, so it was well into it's second orbit).
Personally I believe this was all planned out this way before the launch. Zuma is probably a stealth satellite not detectable visually or by radar and it's inorbit just as planned right now. The whole "we lost it" story is just that, a story.