SpaceX Kicks Off New Year With Secret Launch

A Falcon 9 carrying "Zuma" during a launch attempt November 2017. Photo: SpaceX / Twitter


SpaceX is targeting its first launch of 2018 on Sunday, Jan. 7, but not much is known about what is actually heading into space.
The payload is code-named “Zuma” – a secret payload for an unspecified government agency.
The launch was a late addition to SpaceX’s manifest last year and an attempt to launch the payload was scrubbed back in November.
This new attempt on a Falcon 9 rocket will include a booster landing back at Cape Canaveral which could mean people in the area will hear a sonic boom. The launch window opens around 8:00 p.m. Sunday.
Once SpaceX launches Zuma, the space company will focus on launching its Falcon Heavy – a massive rocket made up of three Falcon 9 boosters with a total of 27 engines.
The demonstration launch of that will happen no earlier than mid-January. Since it’s a test flight, founder Elon Musk decided to launch an electric car on a trajectory to Mars.
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