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comment by kleinbl00
kleinbl00  ·  2269 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Secret spy satellite may be lost after SpaceX launch

    So what actually happened? No one is saying for certain, but there are a couple scenarios in which the Falcon 9 could have performed as it was supposed to and the spacecraft didn’t deploy correctly. Typically, SpaceX uses its own hardware on top of its rocket to send a satellite into orbit, what is known as a payload adapter. It’s an apparatus that physically separates the satellite from the upper part of the rocket and sends it into orbit. However, a previous report from Wired noted that Northrop Grumman provided its own payload adapter for this mission. And if that payload adapter failed, it would have left the satellite still attached to the upper portion of the rocket. That’s certainly a mission failure, but it wouldn’t necessarily be the fault of the Falcon 9.

The Verge

As far as physics, if it'll fit on a Falcon 9 it isn't big. KH-11s take a Delta IV Heavy. And the last time we had a satellite big enough for a DIVH go south we shot the fucker down.





goobster  ·  2269 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Turns out Falcon 9 can lift around 29,000 pounds.

Ironically, the the actual GVWR for a 72-passenger Thomas-Built school bus (made by our parent company, DTNA) is .... 28,999 pounds fully loaded with passengers and fuel.

I have no idea how big Zuma is, but just thought it funny my off-the-cuff "school bus-sized" reference was right within one pound! :-)

goobster  ·  2269 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Gwynne Shotwell, COO of SpaceX, made a very interesting public statement, that is clearly treading very close to the line drawn by scary spooks in Virginia caves:

http://spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=52053

Basically, "Everything went well on our end."

Boom.