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

[tnt22]

Trevor Mahlmann‏ @TrevorMahlmann 57 мин. назад

gooooood morning from historic Launch Complex 39A. Just finished setting my remote cameras for tonight's 8PM launch of the mystery #Zuma payload. #SpaceX

[tnt22]

https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/11/spacex-to-launch-a-secret-but-significant-payload-thursday/

What is Zuma? Mystery surrounds the payload SpaceX is launching today
This is the company's third national security mission.
Eric Berger - 11/16/2017, 5:23 PM

Since earning certification from the Air Force to launch national security payloads—typically spy satellites and military communications satellites—SpaceX has flown two military missions. It launched a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office in May and an Air Force space plane in September.

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On Thursday, SpaceX will attempt to launch its third and most secretive payload for the military. The mission was not even made public until a launch license was released a month ago, and the company didn't acknowledge the launch until this last week. The payload was developed by Northrup Grumman, and has the mysterious name "Zuma," which sounds similar to a carbonated, alcoholic beverage briefly popular in the 1990s, Zima. There are few clues in the launch's mission patch.



Enlarge / Zuma mission patch.

Although Ars understands the payload is being launched for the National Reconnaissance Office, the mission's press kit offers absolutely no details about the payload. It simply refers to the payload as the "Zuma spacecraft," which is bound for low-Earth orbit. (And indeed, the NRO has denied that Zuma is its satellite).

There is a general feeling within the company that this is an important launch for SpaceX, as it will be the third national security mission, and if successful it would validate the company as a major player to meet the country's military launch needs at a time when the US Congress is pushing the Air Force to rely on US made rocket engines. Overall, this will be the company's 17th launch of 2017, and it would more than double the company's launch totals in any previous year.

Zuma has a two-hour launch window for its flight from Kennedy Space Center. The window opens at 8pm ET, and a back-up window opens on Friday at the same time. Weather conditions appear to be near ideal for a launch Thursday. The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket will attempt a land-based return after sending the payload into orbit. The webcast below should begin about 15 minutes before the launch window opens.

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[tnt22]

Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 27 мин. назад

ARTICLE: SpaceX Falcon 9 readies for launch of clandestine Zuma satellite - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/11/spacex-falcon-9-launch-clandestine-zuma-satellite/ ... -

By Chris Gebhardt (@ChrisG_NSF) - who also took the photos (multi-talented!)

Спойлер

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SpaceX Falcon 9 readies for launch of clandestine Zuma satellite

November 16, 2017 by Chris Gebhardt

[tnt22]

Задержка на 1 день  :!:  

45th Space Wing‏ @45thSpaceWing 3 мин назад

New date: (Friday) Nov 17; same time at 8 p.m. ET #falcon9 | @AFSpace | @Air @usairforce | @920thRescueWing | #Zuma

[tnt22]

Updated: 11/16/2017 22:02

SpaceX has again delayed its next Falcon 9 launch until at least Friday evening. A U.S. Air Force spokesperson confirmed the delay to Spaceflight Now.

Friday's launch window opens at 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT Saturday).

The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket is standing at pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will haul the U.S. government's secretive Zuma payload into low Earth orbit.

[tnt22]

Прогноз погоды L-1 на 2017-11-17 (local time) - 2017-11-18 (UTC)

17 Nov L-1 Falcon 9 Launch Forecast

90%+ GO

[tnt22]

Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow 14 мин. назад

A launch double-header is on tap starting Friday night. SpaceX's Falcon 9 booster is set to lift off from Florida at 8pm EST (0100 GMT), then ULA's Delta 2 rocket is set to launch from California at 4:47am EST (0947 GMT) Saturday. We'll cover both at https://spaceflightnow.com 

[tnt22]

11/17/2017 02:16

SpaceX has issued a statement on the launch delay:
"We have decided to stand down and take a closer look at data from recent fairing testing for another customer. Though we have preserved the range opportunity for tomorrow, we will take the time we need to complete the data review and will then confirm a new launch date."

[tnt22]

А вот и официоз

SpaceX‏Подлинная учетная запись @SpaceX 5 мин. назад

Standing down on Zuma mission to take a closer look at data from recent fairing testing for another customer.

3 мин. назад

Though we've preserved the range opportunity for tomorrow, we'll take the time needed to complete the data review and then confirm a new launch date.

[tnt22]

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/11/16/spacex-delays-launch-to-study-data-from-recent-payload-fairing-test/

SpaceX delays launch to study data fr om recent payload fairing test
November 16, 2017 Stephen Clark


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

SpaceX has delayed its next launch from the Kennedy Space Center until at least Friday night, and possibly later, to examine data from a recent payload fairing test for another customer.

The company said in a statement Thursday that the launch, originally scheduled for Wednesday night, will not take place until engineers complete their analysis.

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"We have decided to stand down and take a closer look at data from recent fairing testing for another customer," said John Taylor, a SpaceX spokesperson, in a written statement. "Though we have preserved the range opportunity for tomorrow, we will take the time we need to complete the data review and will then confirm a new launch date."

If SpaceX clears the Falcon 9 rocket for takeoff Friday, the launch window will open at 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT Saturday) and extend for two hours.

The rocket remains vertical at launch pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, wh ere it arrived Tuesday night as SpaceX targeted liftoff Wednesday.

A clandestine payload named Zuma is cocooned inside the Falcon 9's nose shroud, which will jettison from the rocket around three minutes after liftoff once it reaches space. The payload shroud data under review Thursday night comes from a test on components for another mission.

Owned by an unidentified U.S. government agency, Zuma is heading for low Earth orbit, a region of space that extends up to about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) above the planet. Northrop Grumman has acknowledged it reserved Zuma's launch with SpaceX on the government's behalf, and the defense contractor called Zuma a "restricted payload" in a statement released to Spaceflight Now.

Most of the government's top secret satellites are owned by the National Reconnaissance Office, an agency the U.S. intelligence community. But the NRO discloses ownership of its missions, and an NRO spokesperson told Spaceflight Now on Thursday that Zuma does not belong to the surveillance agency.

SpaceX called off Zuma's Wednesday launch attempt to complete "mission assurance" work, officials said. It was not clear Thursday whether the reasons for the two launch delays were related.

If managers clear the Falcon 9 rocket for launch Friday night, forecasters predict near-ideal weather, with less than a 10 percent probability of conditions preventing liftoff from Florida's Space Coast.

Read our earlier story for details on the Zuma mission.

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[Старый]

Не понял, мы летим или не летим?  :oops:

[Apollo13]

Старый пишет:
Не понял, мы летим или не летим?  :oops:

Скорее всего нет.

[SashaBad]

SpaceX задерживает запуск для изучения данных недавнего теста обтекателя полезной нагрузки
 https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/11/16/spacex-delays-launch-to-study-data-from-recent-payload-fairing-test/
SpaceX отложил запуск  по крайней мере до вечера пятницы,а возможно и позже, чтобы изучить данные недавнего теста обтекателя полезной нагрузки для другого клиента.
Компания заявила в четверг, что запуск, первоначально запланированный на среду вечером, не состоится пока инженеры не завершат анализ.
Ракета остается на стартовой площадке 39А в Космическом центре Кеннеди НАСА во Флориде, куда она прибыла во вторник вечером.
Если SpaceX снимет проблемы для взлета Falcon 9 в пятницу, стартовое окно откроется в 20:00 по восточному стандартному времени (01:00 GMT по субботам) и сохранится в течение двух часов.

[Чебурашка]

Apollo13 пишет:
Скорее всего нет.

Заочное соревнование - кто бОльший тормоз, команда Дельты-2 или Флакона   

[tnt22]

Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 57 мин. назад

Per Falcon 9/Zuma status, it is technically NET (No Earlier Than) today. However, per the update yesterday, SpaceX will confirm a new launch date. So that'll be the next update. Right now, there's no Range weather forecast, which one would expect by now.

[tnt22]

На текущий момент 45-е космокрыло не планирует использование полигона
 

Ранее неофициально

Emre Kelly‏Подлинная учетная запись @EmreKelly 15 ч. назад

SpaceX #Zuma update: 45th Space Wing says #Falcon9 launch removed from schedule. Doesn't mean there won't be a launch on Friday, just interesting to note.

[tnt22]

О прогнозе погоды на пуск
 

[tnt22]

Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 25 мин. назад

KSC goes into certain status modes ahead of a launch, such as roadblocks and such. They've been canceled for tonight, so it looks like we'll need to wait and see per when Zuma gets to ride uphill.

[tnt22]

Более категорично

Emre Kelly‏Подлинная учетная запись @EmreKelly 34 мин. назад

Update: SpaceX #Zuma mission not launching tonight. Waiting on new date.

[tnt22]

11/17/2017 21:55

The Falcon 9 rocket with the U.S. government's mysterious Zuma payload is not expected to launch tonight, and SpaceX has not set a new target launch date for the flight.