Classified Military Satellite Goes Missing After SpaceX Launch
- Speculation centers on separation of the classified payload
- Falcon 9 rocket ‘did everything correctly,’ company’s COO says
This article is for subscribers only.
A military satellite launched by Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. appears to have crashed into the sea after a malfunction while being boosted into orbit, a potential setback for the billionaire’s rocket program.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 seemed to lift off successfully from the pad at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Sunday carrying a classified payload in a mission code-named Zuma. But afterward, the U.S. Strategic Command said it wasn’t tracking any new satellites, an indication that the satellite somehow failed to deploy properly.