Zuma wasn't a falcon 9 failure. If SpaceX had a mission failure you would know about it despite the classified status because they wouldn't launch anything else for at least 6mo while they go through their various procedures and investigations for a mission failure of that nature. They launched GovSat-1 today.
A secret American spy satellite code-named Zuma didn't reach orbit in Sunday's failed SpaceX rocket launch. The cost of the missing U.S. government asset, which officially doesn't exist and officially hasn't been lost, is estimated to be in the billions of dollars.
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.
then whose failure was it?
because what other choice and options do they really have at this point.
All signs point to Northrop Grumman. Either the sat was DOA after decoupling, or it failed to decouple at all.
The Air Force didn't change the F9's certification status after the flight, which again points towards it not being a rocket issue.
That article is based on a WSJ article that the people "in the know" have discredited. This happens often because your average news reporter isn't a rocket scientist. It's not malice, just ignorance.
-SpaceX says everything went fine on their end, and they can't lie about it or NG would raise hell
-Instead NG is radio silent on the mission
-Observations were made of the second stage venting fuel - that's a sign it completed its job - being in the correct orbit.
US lawmakers have reportedly been briefed about the loss of the spacecraft[4] and an unnamed government official said that it had re-entered the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean,[6][13] possibly due to a failure in the payload adapter provided by Northrop Grumman.[4][14] Due to the classified nature of the mission, detailed information on the satellite and its fate may not be publicly released.[15] Officially, NORAD still lists the satellite but with no orbital parameters and the orbital status code "no elements available", which is standard procedure for classified missions.[16][17]
Gwynne Shotwell, President and COO of SpaceX, made the following statement:
For clarity: after review of all data to date, Falcon 9 did everything correctly on Sunday night. 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. Due to the classified nature of the payload, no further comment is possible. Since the data reviewed so far indicates that no design, operational or other changes are needed, we do not anticipate any impact on the upcoming launch schedule.[18]
Lon Rains, Communications Director of Northrop Grumman, made the following statement:
This is a classified mission. We cannot comment on classified missions.[4]
ULA. Ever hear of the delta IV/atlas V?
We know what happens after an actual spacex failure - Amos 6 or CRS 7. Total halt of the manifest for months.
The Atlas V historically was not cost-competitive for most commercial launches, where launch costs were about $100 million per satellite to GTO in 2013.[39] The price drop from approximately $180 million to $109 million has been in large part due to competitive pressure that emerged in the launch services marketplace during the early 2010s, with Bruno stating that ULA needs at least 2 commercial missions each year in order to stay profitable.[40] Still, the company is not attempting to win these missions on purely lowest purchase price, stating that it "would rather be the best value provider."[41] ULA suggests that customers will have much lower insurance and delay costs because of the high Atlas V reliability and schedule certainty, making overall customer costs close to that of using competitors like the SpaceX Falcon 9.[42]
i love how our government can pretty much blow a billion dollars and still don't feel like a larger explanation is needed or warranted to the taxpayers.
This goes well with the theme that we actually work for our government and our government no longer works for us........
premiums, right? that's the whole concept of insurance.i forgot that things don't cost money if we can take the money from somewhere else
It's a pr stunt to maintain a pump and dump campaign for Tesla stock, imo.the flamethrower is totally sold out so I doubt it's a secret jew marketing campaign
maybe next time
Edgy sig brophus. So original. So angst.Btw that whole sheetrock thing was just a joke guys
Lmfao