Just Watched the Falcon 9 ZUMA Launch From My House // Mission Was a FAIL // Space X Claiming Success // WTF is Going On ? (news)

submitted ago by Oh_Well_ian

Seen them countless times because I live 14 miles from the Cape. The booster returned but the second stage did not burn. It was LIGHTS OUT at separation. The rocket took a very steep trajectory, at least 20 degrees to vertical from normal. Rocket went dark at the end of first stage and the booster could be seen. Sonic boom confirmed on booster re-entry, but no way satellite could have been deployed. A very bizarre phenomenon when compared to all prior launches.

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Morbo ago

Found this on the SpaceX website:

Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will attempt to land at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

It doesn't sound like stage 2 was meant to do anything on this launch. The point seems to be landing stage 1 at the Cape.

Oh_Well_ian ago

sure... but that would be like going back 3 years. The booster return has been successfully accomplished many times. This was supposed to be top secret payload.

it's very weird

Morbo ago

Just saw the video. Stage 2 did do something but they opted not to show it. They said the fairings portion of the video would not be shown so it might have something to do with that operation. Whatever is on stage 2 is not typical as they did say that after the stage 1 back burn that stage 2 and ZUMA would be continuing on to their final orbits. This occurred at about 118 miles altitude. Stage 2 and ZUMA may not use a chemical propulsion system that would be visible so who knows what happened here. They didn't act like there was any issues so whatever the payload is survived and is doing its secret things. The stage 1 landing was a secondary mission according to the announcer. ZUMA is likely something very exotic. Could be related to the X-37 projects but who the hell knows outside of the privileged few.

Oh_Well_ian ago

Thanks for the update. No way that rocket hit 118 mi. in altitude. The launch was abbreviated significantly and no down range burn was seen. IT WAS BLACK.

trust me on this one...

Morbo ago

All I have to go by is the telemetry they showed so I can't argue with you there. Whatever went on with this mission is going to be kept quiet whether it was successful or not. The few shots I saw of mission control seemed like there were no signs of issue or concern so things must have gone as planned. Hopefully we will learn more over time but depending on what ZUMA is we may never know.

Oh_Well_ian ago

thanks... I was anticipating this mission and as I said, I have seen nearly every launch in the last 3 years. This was off from the outset and at separation, it looked like an abort.

Just wanted to give a first hand account of this much hyped launched.

Morbo ago

Well thank you for the account of the launch. You're lucky to be close enough to see some action like this. It must make for some good entertainment and some occasional scares as well.

Oh_Well_ian ago

I watch the launches on tv and out my window, simultaneously. Yes, very lucky. The recent fueling error explosion shook the house like crazy and could be felt physically. I can actually see my street in booster return video lol. There was a launch in 2015 that looked exactly like the Iridium launch in California a few weeks back. It was a 3:45 am launch. I'll see if I can nail down which one it was.