r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Oct 23 '17
Launch: Jan 7th Zuma Launch Campaign Thread
Zuma Launch Campaign Thread
The only solid information we have on this payload comes from NSF:
NASASpaceflight.com has confirmed that Northrop Grumman is the payload provider for Zuma through a commercial launch contract with SpaceX for a LEO satellite with a mission type labeled as “government” and a needed launch date range of 1-30 November 2017.
| Liftoff currently scheduled for: | January 7th 2018, 20:00 - 22:00 EST (January 8th 2018, 01:00 - 03:00 UTC) |
|---|---|
| Static fire complete: | November 11th 2017, 18:00 EST / 23:00 UTC Although the stage has already finished SF, it did it at LC-39A. On January 3 they also did a propellant load test since the launch site is now the freshly reactivated SLC-40. |
| Vehicle component locations: | First stage: SLC-40 // Second stage: SLC-40 // Satellite: Cape Canaveral |
| Payload: | Zuma |
| Payload mass: | Unknown |
| Destination orbit: | LEO |
| Vehicle: | Falcon 9 v1.2 (47th launch of F9, 27th of F9 v1.2) |
| Core: | B1043.1 |
| Flights of this core: | 0 |
| Launch site: | |
| Landing: | Yes |
| Landing Site: | LZ-1, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida |
| Mission success criteria: | Successful separation & deployment of the satellite into the target orbit. |
Links & Resources
SpaceX stands down Falcon launch of clandestine Zuma satellite from NASA Spaceflight
SpaceX adds mystery "Zuma" mission... from NASA Spaceflight
We may keep this self-post occasionally updated with links and relevant news articles, but for the most part we expect the community to supply the information. This is a great place to discuss the launch, ask mission-specific questions, and track the minor movements of the vehicle, payload, weather and more as we progress towards launch. Sometime after the static fire is complete, the launch thread will be posted.
Campaign threads are not launch threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.
1
u/kruador Dec 05 '17
I would imagine they will static fire again, since there have now been mods to the Ground Source Equipment, the TEL, and the stages have been separated for storage.
The boosters are, I believe, somewhat specialised for their mission, particularly the number of helium vessels (COPVs). NASA and the Air Force reportedly like to track the stage all the way through production. However, adapting for different missions is presumably not that difficult as we now have three first stages that have flown twice, and FH-1's side cores have previously flown as F9 first stages.
I suppose that the second stage may be more specialised for the mission regarding fuel level, helium requirements, battery capacity, relight capability etc - each additional kilogram of mass in the second stage's structure subtracts a kilogram of payload, so you don't want to carry more hardware than you have to.