Zuma – Falcon 9 – CCAFS LC-40 – 08.01.2018 01:00 UTC

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NOTMARs

NAVAREA IV 1067/2017 (11,26)

WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING
   160055Z TO 160337Z NOV, ALTERNATE
   170055Z TO 170337Z NOV IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-38N 080-43W, 29-12N 080-06W,
   30-04N 079-00W, 29-56N 078-52W,
   28-41N 080-10W, 28-26N 080-21W,
   28-22N 080-38W.
   B. 30-04N 079-00W, 30-52N 078-17W,
   31-32N 077-25W, 31-54N 076-49W,
   31-49N 076-45W, 31-36N 076-57W,
   30-44N 077-53W, 29-56N 078-52W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 170437Z NOV 17.

( 110428Z NOV 2017 )

HYDROPAC 3895/2017 (61,75)

SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN.
DNC 03, DNC 04.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS SPACE DEBRIS
   160300Z TO 160637Z NOV, ALTERNATE
   170300Z TO 170637Z NOV IN AREA BOUND BY
   30-27S 064-51E, 30-44S 067-03E,
   38-10S 082-43E, 47-22S 108-39E,
   50-30S 124-39E, 51-55S 126-03E,
   53-32S 125-05E, 54-24S 116-01E,
   53-34S 101-27E, 47-46S 082-05E,
   39-58S 069-31E, 31-56S 063-23E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 170737Z NOV 17.

( 110407Z NOV 2017 )

NtM #3895 соответствует NA F3592/17 (#32)

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NOTMAR, зоны A и B
 

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Прогноз погоды L-1

15 Nov L-1 Falcon 9 Launch Forecast
 
70% GO

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Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow 5 мин. назад

SpaceX has announced a one-day delay in the next Falcon 9 launch from the Kennedy Space Center. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket is now targeted for Thursday at 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT Friday) with the top secret Zuma payload for the U.S. government. https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/11/15/falcon-9-zuma-mission-status-center/ ...

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Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 4 мин. назад

SpaceX is now targeting Thursday, Nov. 16 for launch of the Zuma mission. Both Falcon 9 and the payload remain healthy; teams will use the extra day to conduct some additional mission assurance work in advance of launch. The launch time and window remain the same for Thursday.

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11/15/2017 10:07

Liftoff of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket has been pushed back a day until Thursday evening, the company announced in a statement.

"SpaceX is now targeting Thursday, Nov. 16 for launch of the Zuma mission," the the company said. "Both Falcon 9 and the payload remain healthy; teams will use the extra day to conduct some additional mission assurance work in advance of launch."

Спойлер

Thursday's launch window opens at 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT Friday) and extends for two hours, the same as Wednesday night's window.

The payload aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is a top secret passenger for the U.S. government named Zuma. Northrop Grumman arranged for the launch with SpaceX on a commercial basis on behalf of the government.

"Northrop Grumman is proud to be a part of the Zuma launch," said Lon Rains, communications director for Northrop Grumman's space division. "This event represents a cost effective approach to space access for government missions.

"The U.S. government assigned Northrop Grumman the responsibility of acquiring launch services for this mission. We have procured the Falcon 9 launch service from SpaceX.

"As a company, Northrop Grumman realizes that this is monumental responsibility and have taken great care to ensure the most affordable and lowest risk scenario for Zuma.

"The Zuma payload is a restricted payload," Rains said in a statement. It will be launched into Low Earth Orbit."

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SpaceX‏Подлинная учетная запись @SpaceX 21 мин назад

Falcon 9 and Zuma went vertical last night on Pad 39A. Now targeting November 16 for launch — rocket and payload remain healthy, and the teams will use the extra day to conduct additional mission assurance work.

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Прогноз погоды L-1 на 2017-11-16 20:00 EST (2017-11-17 04:00 ДМВ)

16 Nov L-1 Falcon 9 Launch Forecast
 
90% GO

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Официальная эмблема миссии

 

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SpaceX выпустила пресс-кит миссии - zumapresskit.pdf, 278758 B, 2 стр, 2017-11-15 21:04:39 UTC

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http://www.spacex.com/webcast

ZUMA MISSION

SpaceX is targeting launch of the Zuma spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The two-hour primary launch window opens at 8:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, November 16, or 1:00 UTC on Friday, November 17. A backup two-hour launch window opens at 8:00 p.m. EST on Friday, November 17, or 1:00 UTC on Saturday, November 18.

Following stage separation, Falcon 9's first stage will attempt to land at SpaceX's Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. You can watch the launch live below and find more information about the mission in our press kit.

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О трансляции запуска

spacex.com/webcast

или

youtube.com/watch?v=OPHbqY9LHCs

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11/16/2017 03:09


(Credit: SpaceX)

The Falcon 9 rocket is vertical at pad 39A for Thursday night's liftoff scheduled for a two-hour window opening at 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT Friday).

Спойлер

There is a 90 percent chance of favorable weather Thursday night, according to an outlook issued by the U.S. Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron earlier today.

The only slight concern is with cumulus clouds that might move over the launch pad.

"Onshore gusty winds will create showers along the Space Coast for one more day," forecasters wrote in the weather synopsis. "These showers will diminish after sunrise Thursday as an upper-level trough moves south of the spaceport.

"By the launch window Thursday evening, clouds will also diminish, leaving only a few cumulus clouds. Maximum upper-level winds will be from the west at 70 knots near 45,000 feet."

Meteorologists predict a few clouds at 3,000 feet, winds from the north-northeast at 15 to 20 mph, and a temperature of 67 degrees Fahrenheit at launch time.

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[Брабонт]

Hi all,

I would like to draw attention to the fact that if the Zuma launch coming Friday
happens in the first 15-20 minutes or so of the launch window opening (Area
Warnings are for a window between 0:55 UT - 3:37 UT, Nov 17), this would mean
that Zuma would end up very close to USA 276 after orbit insertion.

Any launch moment between say 1:00 UT and 1:15 UT would be very interesting for
that reason.

USA 276 makes a pass right over Cape Canaveral around 1:08 UT on Nov 17 (not
just the orbital plane, but the actual satellite does).

Launch of Zuma near 1:02 UT would almost have the two satellites meet at orbit
insertion, assuming insertion at a similar orbital altitude. I pressume that
would be a bit too much and will not happen, but it wouldn't surprise me if the
launch nevertheless occurs in the first 15-20 minutes of the window, with the
two satellites ending up in very similar orbits and actually not too far distant
from each other.

I readily admit, this all to a high degree remains speculation and wishful
thinking of course. We'll see what happens. But I found it curious enough to
draw attention to it.

- Marco

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https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/11/15/top-secret-zuma-payload-puzzles-satellite-trackers/

Top secret 'Zuma' mission puzzles satellite trackers
November 15, 2017 Stephen Clark

A top secret payload developed in secrecy for the U.S. government is set to ride into orbit fr om Florida's Space Coast aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Thursday.

Known only by the codename Zuma, the payload is likely heading for an orbit less than 1,000 miles in altitude, and perhaps much lower. The existence of the mission was not revealed until it was disclosed in regulatory filings last month.

Спойлер

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket stands poised for launch at pad 39A in Florida with the Zuma payload. Credit: SpaceX

A disclosure so close to launch is rare in the space industry, and little information about the mission has been released in the last few weeks. Clandestine spacecraft owned by the National Reconnaissance Office — the U.S. government's spy satellite agency — receive codenames years before they lift off. They're also listed in public procurement documents and launch manifests.

Northrop Grumman acknowledged its role in the Zuma mission in a statement, confirming it arranged for the launch with SpaceX on the government's behalf.

"Northrop Grumman is proud to be a part of the Zuma launch," said Lon Rains, communications director for Northrop Grumman's space division. "This event represents a cost effective approach to space access for government missions.

"The U.S. government assigned Northrop Grumman the responsibility of acquiring launch services for this mission," Rains said in a written statement emailed to Spaceflight Now. "We have procured the Falcon 9 launch service fr om SpaceX."

Northrop Grumman did not say whether it built the Zuma payload, but the defense contractor said it considered cost and risk in its selection of the Falcon 9.

"As a company, Northrop Grumman realizes that this is monumental responsibility and have taken great care to ensure the most affordable and lowest risk scenario for Zuma," the statement said.

"The Zuma payload is a restricted payload," Rains said. "It will be launched into Low Earth Orbit."

Officials have not divulged which U.S. government agency will be the primary user of the payload, or whether it's a military or civilian group. Zuma could be a surveillance mission, a spy satellite, an experimental tech demo, or something else.


The Falcon 9 rocket stands vertical at pad 39A on Wednesday afternoon. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

The Falcon 9 rocket has a two-hour launch window to take off Thursday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The opportunity opens at 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT Friday).

It will be the 45th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket, and the 17th Falcon 9 flight of the year, a record in the commercial launch business.

Ground crews raised the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket vertical at launch pad 39A early Wednesday. The mission was supposed to blast off Wednesday night, but SpaceX announced a 24-hour launch delay to allow engineers to complete additional mission assurance work.

The SpaceX launch team will switch on the Falcon 9's computers and verify their readiness for launch Thursday afternoon, and the countdown's automatic sequencer will commence at T-minus 70 minutes, followed by the loading of super-chilled, densified rocket-grade RP-1 kerosene into the two-stage rocket.

Cryogenic liquid oxygen will be pumped into the rocket beginning at T-minus 45 minutes.

In the final 10 minutes of the countdown, the Falcon 9's Merlin main engines will be readied for ignition and the rocket will be switched to internal power.

The on-board computer will send the command to ignite the first stage's nine Merlin 1D engines at T-minus 3 seconds. After throttling up to full power, the engines will power the Falcon 9 off the launch pad with 1.7 million pounds of thrust.

Thursday's flight will place the Zuma payload into low Earth orbit, according to Northrop Grumman, but the parameters of the target orbit have not been released. Most satellites in low Earth orbit fly less than 1,000 miles above the planet.

A notice warning pilots to steer clear of the Falcon 9's flight path suggest the rocket will head northeast from the Kennedy Space Center.

Another advisory indicates the Falcon 9's second stage will drop out of orbit after deploying the Zuma payload, heading for a re-entry over the southern Indian Ocean, wh ere debris could fall into the sea southeast of Madagascar.


SpaceX's official patch for the Zuma mission. Credit: SpaceX

Ted Molczan, a respected satellite watcher in Canada, analyzed the aviation advisories and predicts the Zuma payload will launch into an orbit with a tilt of approximately 50 degrees to the equator, but there is some uncertainty in the estimate.

A coordinated network of amateur satellite observers communicating in an online forum will attempt to locate the Zuma payload after its launch, and an estimate of its expected orbit will help tell the trackers wh ere to look.

The U.S. military publishes information on the orbits of most satellites to avoid spacecraft collisions, but it withholds data on the government's most secretive missions.

"There are many possible orbits, so we can only try to be aware of what could happen, and plan the search accordingly," Molczan told Spaceflight Now.

One theory proposed by Macro Langbroek, an experienced tracker of satellite movements who lives in the Netherlands, suggests the Zuma payload could be related to a classified National Reconnaissance Office satellite launched on a Falcon 9 rocket in May.

The secretive NRO spacecraft, designated USA-276, flies in an orbit inclined 50 degrees to the equator, similar or identical to the track Zuma is expected to take.

What's more, the USA-276 satellite will fly over Central Florida around 8:08 p.m. EST Thursday (0108 GMT Friday), eight minutes after the opening of the Falcon 9's launch window.

A launch in the first part of Thursday's launch window would place Zuma very close to USA-276.

"I readily admit, this all to a high degree remains speculation and wishful thinking, of course," Langbroek wrote on the SeeSat-L forum. "We'll see what happens. But I found it curious enough to draw attention to it."


USA-276's track will take it over Florida, just south of Cape Canaveral, a few minutes after the opening of Thursday's launch window. Credit: n2yo.com

USA-276 was the subject of its own pre-launch speculation because it did not go into an orbit used by any other NRO missions. It was also the first Falcon 9 launch dedicated to the U.S. government's intelligence community.

Ground-based observers using the SeeSat-L forum spotted the USA-276 satellite around three weeks after its May 1 launch from the Kennedy Space Center. They calculated it was in an orbit about 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth that oscillates between 50 degrees north and south latitude on each lap around the planet.

An NRO spokesperson said the USA-276 satellite was built by Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., but officials declined to describe its purpose.

USA-276 made a mysterious flyby as close as 4 miles (6 kilometers) International Space Station in early June — a month after its launch — but Langbroek and Molczan are not sure whether the unusually close encounter was intentional.

Ball Aerospace specializes in building small and medium-sized satellites. Most of Ball's spacecraft have weighed less than 6,000 pounds (about 2,700 kilograms) at launch, and that is likely an upper bound on USA-276's mass.

The Zuma payload flying on Thursday's Falcon 9 launch is also believed to be relatively light.

The Falcon 9's first stage will fire its main engines for around 2 minutes, 16 seconds, on Thursday's flight, then give way to the upper stage's single engine to continue the climb into orbit.

That is the shortest first stage firing on any Falcon 9 launch to date, one second shy of the booster's burn time during the launch of USA-276 in May.

SpaceX engineers can adjust the length of the first stage burn based on each mission's requirements. A longer burn customarily means the satellite is heavier and going into a higher orbit — leaving less propellant in the tanks for landing maneuvers — and a shorter firing could mean the launch profile is not as demanding, suggesting a lighter payload and a lower orbit.

The booster will attempt to return to land at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a controlled descent that can only be accomplished on missions heading for low orbits because it requires ample leftover fuel.

A subset of the first stage's nine Merlin engines will fire two times to guide the booster back toward land once it detaches from the Falcon 9 second stage high above the Atlantic Ocean. The first stage's center engine will ignite again just before touchdown, and four landing legs will open at the base of the rocket as descends to Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral.

Landing is scheduled less than eight minutes after liftoff, according to a timeline provided by SpaceX.

The company's launch webcast is expected to end coverage of the second stage's engine burn shortly after it ignites, complying with the wishes of Zuma's owner. Live video will focus on the first stage's descent back to Earth.

SpaceX will try to land a rocket at Landing Zone 1 for the eighth time on Thursday's flight. Falcon 9 boosters have landed intact there or on offshore vessels 19 times, advancing SpaceX's efforts to recover and reuse rockets.

Three Falcon 9 missions have used previously-flown boosters to date. The first stage slated to get Zuma off the ground Thursday is set to fly for the first time.

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Переобъявлена

Airspace Closure Area

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Переобъявлена (указано локальное время)

Launch Hazard Area
 

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Chris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF 49 мин. назад

I spy with my little eye a #Falcon9 on the launch pad. Up close pics coming soon. #SpaceX #Zuma



26 мин. назад

Good morning fr om pad 39A @NASAKennedy wh ere a #SpaceX #Falcon9 is preparing for launch at 8 PM EST tonight with the secret #Zuma payload. – Launch Pad 39A (LC-39A)



4 мин. назад

Moody weather. #Falcon9 says, "Don't rain on my secret parade." #SpaceX #Zuma