Jane Edwards
A classified U.S. government payload launched aboard a SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Space.com reported Sunday.
The Zuma mission took off aboard the rocket’s second stage, which continued its ascent into low-Earth orbit.
The booster’s first stage separated from the second stage after 2 minutes and 19 seconds in mid-flight to perform a touchdown at the company’s landing zone at Cape Canaveral for reuse in future launch missions.
Bloomberg also reported that Northrop Grumman tapped SpaceX to launch the Zuma mission for the U.S. government aboard Falcon 9.
“As a company, Northrop Grumman realizes this is a monumental responsibility and we have taken great care to ensure the most affordable and lowest risk scenario for Zuma,†said Lon Rains, a spokesman for the defense contractor.
SpaceX carried out 17 missions in 2017 with plans to perform approximately 30 launches in 2018, the report added.
