SpaceX will launch Zuma into space this week. No, not President Jacob Zuma. The company, headed by South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, will fire a secretive payload into low-earth orbit on Wednesday aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
Little is known about the clandestine payload, but liftoff is scheduled for between 8pm and 10pm US Eastern time on Wednesday. It’s believed the payload is being launched on behalf of the US government.
SpaceX conducted a successful engine-firing (static-fire test) on Saturday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of the planned launch.
The launch of the Zuma payload will be SpaceX’s 17th launch of 2017 and the 45th flight of a Falcon 9 rocket since the commercial booster was introduced in 2010, the website Spaceflight Now reported. — (c) 2017 NewsCentral Media