{"id":18976,"date":"2017-05-01T19:37:54","date_gmt":"2017-05-01T11:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacex-reaches-milestone-with-falcon-9-launch-of-secret-nrol-76-spy-satellite-and-booster-landing\/"},"modified":"2017-05-01T19:37:54","modified_gmt":"2017-05-01T11:37:54","slug":"spacex-reaches-milestone-with-falcon-9-launch-of-secret-nrol-76-spy-satellite-and-booster-landing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacex-reaches-milestone-with-falcon-9-launch-of-secret-nrol-76-spy-satellite-and-booster-landing\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX reaches milestone with Falcon 9 launch of secret NROL-76 spy satellite \u2013 and booster landing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"SpaceX
SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket rises from its Florida launch pad. (NRO via Twitter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SpaceX launched a top-secret satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office today, then brought its Falcon 9 booster back for a spectacular touchdown at its Florida landing zone.<\/p>\n

The NROL-76 launch marks a milestone as the first SpaceX launch fully dedicated to a classified mission, and the first since the U.S. Air Force cleared the company to take on national security space projects in 2015. The only precedent came back in 2010, when SpaceX launched a couple of experimental nanosatellites for the NRO as secondary payloads on a NASA demonstration mission.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s liftoff from the historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida officially ended United Launch Alliance\u2019s monopoly on spy satellite launches.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to the SpaceX team for the great ride, and for the terrific teamwork and commitment they demonstrated throughout,\u201d NRO Director Betty Sapp said in a post-launch statement. \u201cThey were an integral part of our government\/industry team for this mission, and proved themselves to be a great partner.\u201d<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DUcNq1PhPQk<\/p>\n

Blastoff had originally been scheduled for early Sunday, but the countdown had to be halted at literally the last minute due to concerns about anomalous readings from a sensor on the Falcon 9\u2019s first stage. \u201cOut of an abundance of caution, we opted to hold launch and replace that sensor in question,\u201d said John Federspiel, a SpaceX engineer who served as launch commentator.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s countdown, in contrast, proceeded smoothly all the way to launch into mostly sunny skies at 7:15 a.m. ET (4:15 a.m. PT).<\/p>\n

Because the satellite mission is classified, neither SpaceX nor the NRO provided details about its mission, and SpaceX\u2019s live video coverage had to cut away from the rocket\u2019s ascent minutes after launch.<\/p>\n

Experts have speculated that the payload is a spy satellite designed to collect data from low Earth orbit. In a posting to the SeeSat-L discussion forum, amateur satellite watcher Ted Molczan said the payload may be an \u201cimagery intelligence satellite built by Ball Aerospace,\u201d possibly with radar imaging capability.<\/p>\n

Molczan and his colleagues plan to keep track of the satellite\u2019s orbital parameters to find out if their speculation was correct.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BTjVdLVB1bO\/<\/p>\n

After the Falcon 9\u2019s second stage separated to push the mystery payload into orbit, the first stage relit three of its Merlin engines to brake its descent and fly back toward SpaceX\u2019s Landing Zone 1, not far from the launch pad.<\/p>\n

Video showed the booster zooming all the way down to its intended target, shining in the rays of the rising sun and setting off sonic booms.<\/p>\n

\u201cA beautiful sight to see,\u201d Federspiel said during today\u2019s webcast. As he spoke, SpaceX employees at the company\u2019s California headquarters could be heard cheering in the background.<\/p>\n

The feat marked the fourth touchdown at Landing Zone 1 for SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 boosters, in addition to six at-sea landings. SpaceX plans to lower the cost of orbital launches by refurbishing and reusing the boosters. The first such reuse took place last month.<\/p>\n

Although the day seemed to provide little drama, SpaceX\u2019s billionaire founder, Elon Musk, tweeted that going ahead with the launch was a \u201ctough call\u201d due to high-altitude winds:<\/p>\n