SpaceX denies it lost secret satellite

SPACEX has defended its rocket performance during the weekend launch of a secret US satellite, responding to media reports that the satellite codenamed Zuma was lost.

Company president Gwynne Shotwell said the Falcon 9 rocket “did everything correctly” on Sunday and suggestions otherwise were “categorically false”. Northrop Grumman — which provided the satellite for an undisclosed US government entity — said it could not comment on classified missions.

The company chose SpaceX as the launch provider, noting late last year that it took “great care to ensure the most affordable and lowest risk scenario for Zuma”. The name refers to a Malibu beach in Southern California.

This was SpaceX’s third classified mission for the US government, a lucrative customer.

It was so shrouded in secrecy that the sponsoring government agency was not even identified, as is usually the case.

The Wall Street Journal quotes unidentified congressional officials who were briefed on the mission as saying the satellite apparently did not separate from the second stage, and plunged through the atmosphere and burned up.

Originally scheduled for a November launch, Zuma was delayed by potential concern about another mission’s payload fairing, the shell on top that protects a satellite during launch. The company later said it had cleared the issue.