Friday, November 17, 2017

SpaceX Abruptly Calls Off Launch Of Mysterious Zuma Payload

Adding to the mystery surrounding its planned launch of a super-secret payload, called "Zuma", into orbit, Los Angeles-based SpaceX says it has "decided to stand down" from the launch of the mysterious, top secret payload. According to SpaceX, it has instead decided to "take a closer look at data from recent fairing testing" for another customer. SpaceX said it will confirm a new launch date later. SpaceX has not named the customer for the launch, which is reportedly for an un-named, mysterious U.S. government customer. SpaceX had prepped the payload and Falcon 9 rocket for launch on Thursday--going as far as setting up for a livestream of the launch--then abruptly decided to cancel the launch. SpaceX had set up the Falcon 9 for launch from pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and had said there would be launch windows Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. SpaceX also had planned to land the Falcon 9's first stage at Cape Canaveral. The "Zuma" launch is particularly mysterious, as SpaceX has not identified which U.S. agency is behind the launch. In the past, even launches of spy satellites for such agencies as the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) have been identified.