A highly classified U.S. spy satellite is presumed to be lost after it failed to reach orbit atop a Space Exploration Technologies Corp. rocket on Sunday, reports The Wall Street Journal. The secret payload, codenamed Zuma, is believed to have plummeted back into the atmosphere because it didn’t separate as planned from the upper part of the rocket. Whatever the rocket is carrying is supposed to separate and proceed on its own trajectory once the engine powering the rocket’s expendable second stage stops firing. But if the satellite isn’t set free at the right time or is damaged upon release, it can be dragged back down to earth. Zuma’s launch was already delayed when SpaceX announced engineers “wanted to take a closer look at data from recent” tests of a fairing, or protective covering for a satellite, writes WSJ. Fairings are used to shield satellites that are carried near the nose of the rocket and remain in place until final insertion into orbit. SpaceX did not signal any problems during the launch and has declined to indicate whether such issues caused or contributed to the missteps. Since there has been a lack of details, there might be another culprit for why the payload was lost. SpaceX is currently competing for more national-security launches against its primary rival, a joint venture between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Crop. It is unclear what job the satellite was going to perform.
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