An Elon Musk company missing a deadline is nothing new. Nor is a space rocket launch being delayed. However, SpaceX’s Zuma mission still seems far from typical.
Late last week Musk’s commercial space company was set to propel the secretive Zuma payload into a low earth orbit after initial delays pushed the launch from October. It was then moved from Wednesday to Thursday to Friday and finally placed on “stand down” status.
According to the company’s website and Twitter feed, this stemmed from SpaceX wanting to take a closer look at test data related to the Falcon 9 rocket’s fairing, or nosecone.
Adding to the speculation around these delays is that there is absolutely nothing known about the rocket’s payload, who is paying SpaceX to deploy it, or where exactly it’s going.
It’s assumed that the payload is a satellite of some sort, but public filings only mentioned tentative launch dates and the involvement of SpaceX and Northrup Grumman – one of the largest defense contractors in the world.
Musk and SpaceX are mum on Zuma, and Northrup Grumman is almost more paranoia-inducing with a statement that includes references to a “restricted payload” and “monumental responsibility.”
Government clients are nothing new for SpaceX. They’ve had two classified launches since 2015, but in both instances, the agency hiring SpaceX was not concealed – they were the Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office, or NRO.
So, with no one claiming the payload, speculation about the client includes the CIA, NSA, and NRO, with objectives that range from spying specifically on China and North Korea to adding to a secret collection of spy satellites.
Regardless of its timing or ultimate mission, if successful, Zuma would represent the 20th launch and return of a reusable Falcon 9 rocket.