Quote from: jebbo on 10/25/2017 11:24 amSo, is it even a national security launch?It's really hard to imagine a non-military agency of the US government keeping a secret satellite.I mean REALLY hard. Would anyone really believe that the FBI, DEA, or ICE would ever get past the planning stage before this would be public?So that leave some sort of military support that is not reconnaissance. Perhaps communications?
So, is it even a national security launch?
Not sure if we should trust this kind of news. I think that depending on classification level they may be obliged to deny their very involvement in a project even if they in fact are are involved. We may never know.
Quote from: tleski on 10/25/2017 02:11 pmNot sure if we should trust this kind of news. I think that depending on classification level they may be obliged to deny their very involvement in a project even if they in fact are are involved. We may never know.The quote is "doesn't belong to", not "not involved with". As a hypothetical example, it could be a technology demonstrator serving multiple purposes, and hosting a NRO payload in addition to others, while still "not belonging" to the NRO.Generally speaking, have we seen a pattern of actual disinformation (as opposed to "no information") in the past? Seems like we tend to take these kinds of statements at face value, although the language should be parsed carefully.
Given the late announcement of the mission and the secrecy that’s surrounded it, I’d be pleasantly surprised just to have a webcast showing footage from the ground and the post- separation footage of the S1 core.
SpaceX Falcon 9 Strongback still sits on top of LC-39A following Monday's successful launch.
This may be normal but I find it interesting:QuoteSpaceX Falcon 9 Strongback still sits on top of LC-39A following Monday's successful launch.SpaceX Falcon 9 Strongback still sits on top of LC-39A following Monday's successful launch.
This may be normal but I find it interesting:QuoteSpaceX Falcon 9 Strongback still sits on top of LC-39A following Monday's successful launch.https://twitter.com/NASA_Nerd/status/926871276341174272
I spy with my @SpaceX eye ...
Mandatory tour bus shot of 39A today ahead of #Zuma preparations.
This really is a dark mission, the moon won't even be up.Moonrise 4:04 am Moonset 4:07 pm
Quote from: gongora on 11/09/2017 03:15 pmThis really is a dark mission, the moon won't even be up.Moonrise 4:04 am Moonset 4:07 pmUntil the Merlins fire up, of course. It's not like you can stealth launch a rocket. At least not yet.
Quote from: rpapo on 11/09/2017 08:23 pmQuote from: gongora on 11/09/2017 03:15 pmThis really is a dark mission, the moon won't even be up.Moonrise 4:04 am Moonset 4:07 pmUntil the Merlins fire up, of course. It's not like you can stealth launch a rocket. At least not yet.Having fun imagining a huge suppressor screwing onto the bottom of Falcon 9.