Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST See all 2017 rocket launches from the Space Coast | 1:18 See a compilation of all 2017 rocket launch operations from the Space Coast. Emre Kelly / FLORIDA TODAY 1 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST SpaceX launches from Cape Canaveral, nails the landing | 0:59 SpaceX successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a mission to the International Space Station on Friday, Dec. 15, 2017. The first stage landed at Landing Zone 1 shortly after. 2 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST Watch SpaceX launch and land its Falcon 9 rocket | 0:39 Watch SpaceX launch its Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center with a Korean communications satellite and land the first stage on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship. 3 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST Atlas V rocket launches from Cape Canaveral with secret satellite | 1:09 An Atlas V rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with a secret National Reconnaissance Office satellite on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017. 4 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST SpaceX launches Falcon 9 from KSC, nails the landing | 0:43 SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017 and landed the first stage on a drone ship shortly after. 5 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST SpaceX launches, lands Falcon 9 on X-37B mini-shuttle mission | 0:54 SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket with the secretive X-37B mini-shuttle on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017, and successfully landed the first stage at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. 6 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST Minotaur IV rocket launches from Cape | 0:45 Orbital ATK’s Minotaur IV, making its first launch from Florida, shot from long-dormant Launch Complex 46 at 2:04 a.m. Posted Aug. 26, 2017 Orbital ATK video. 7 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST Atlas V rocket launches from Cape with NASA satellite | 1:58 A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Friday with NASA's newest communications satellite. Posted Friday, August 18, 2017. 8 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from KSC, lands at Cape | 0:59 A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center and landed at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Monday, August 14, 2017. 9 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST Video: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 on third try | 1:59 A Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Kennedy Space Center at 7:38 p.m. Wednesday, July 5, 2017 – the company's third attempt after two previous technical scrubs. 10 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from KSC, lands on drone ship | 0:51 A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center on Friday, June 23, 2017 with the BulgariaSat-1 communications satellite. The first stage then landed on a drone ship off the coast of Florida. 11 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST SpaceX launches Falcon 9 from KSC, lands at Cape | 0:58 SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket on a mission to the International Space Station and landed the first stage at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station shortly after on Saturday, June 3, 2017. 12 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST SpaceX launches satellite size of a double-decker bus | 0:35 SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch included a 13,500-pound satellite that's close to the size of a double-decker bus. USA TODAY 13 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST SpaceX launches Falcon 9 from KSC, nails landing | 1:02 SpaceX launched a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload from Kennedy Space Center Monday morning and successfully landed the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket. 14 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST Atlas V rocket blasts off on mission with Cygnus spacecraft | 1:00 An Atlas V rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Tuesday, April 18, 2017 with a Cygnus spacecraft for the International Space Station. 15 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST SpaceX launches, lands 'flight proven' Falcon 9 | 1:44 In a historic first for the company and the industry, SpaceX launched and landed a "flight proven," or refurbished, Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center. 16 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST Delta IV rocket launches from Cape Canaveral | 2:01 A Delta IV rocket carrying the military's WGS-9 satellite blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Saturday, March 18, 2017. 17 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Kennedy Space Center | 1:58 SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket blasts off from Kennedy Space Center with the EchoStar 23 communications satellite on Thursday, March 16, 2017. 18 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST Falcon 9 blasts off from KSC, lands at Cape | 1:08 A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully blasted off from Kennedy Space Center's historic pad 39A on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017. The first stage returned for a successful landing in Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. 19 of 20 Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE 2017 ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM THE SPACE COAST Atlas V rocket blasts off with missile detection satellite | 1:35 An Atlas V rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with the SBIRS missile detection satellite on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. 20 of 20 Last VideoNext Video See all 2017 rocket launches from the Space Coast 
 
 SpaceX launches from Cape Canaveral, nails the landing 
 
 Watch SpaceX launch and land its Falcon 9 rocket 
 
 Atlas V rocket launches from Cape Canaveral with secret satellite 
 
 SpaceX launches Falcon 9 from KSC, nails the landing 
 
 SpaceX launches, lands Falcon 9 on X-37B mini-shuttle mission 
 
 Minotaur IV rocket launches from Cape 
 
 Atlas V rocket launches from Cape with NASA satellite 
 
 SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from KSC, lands at Cape 
 
 Video: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 on third try 
 
 SpaceX Falcon 9 launches from KSC, lands on drone ship 
 
 SpaceX launches Falcon 9 from KSC, lands at Cape 
 
 SpaceX launches satellite size of a double-decker bus 
 
 SpaceX launches Falcon 9 from KSC, nails landing 
 
 Atlas V rocket blasts off on mission with Cygnus spacecraft 
 
 SpaceX launches, lands 'flight proven' Falcon 9 
 
 Delta IV rocket launches from Cape Canaveral 
 
 SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Kennedy Space Center 
 
 Falcon 9 blasts off from KSC, lands at Cape 
 
 Atlas V rocket blasts off with missile detection satellite 
 
 Buy Photo A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017. (Photo: Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY-USA TODAY NETWORK)Buy Photo 
 
 Update: 
 
 SpaceX's launch attempt from Kennedy Space Center of the secretive "Zuma" mission has been delayed to Friday, according to the 45th Space Wing. 
 
 The launch time – a two-hour window opening at 8 p.m. – remains the same. 
 
 Original story: 
 
 The Space Coast is no stranger to missions involving secretive national security payloads, but Thursday night's SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from Kennedy Space Center is more enigmatic than most. 
 
 Set to launch from pad 39A during a two-hour window that opens at 8 p.m., the brand new nine-engine rocket will take a payload to low Earth orbit on a mission codenamed "Zuma" for Northrop Grumman. The first stage of the Falcon 9 will then descend for a landing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Landing Zone 1, generating a window-rattling sonic boom along the way. 
 
 The weather forecast looks good, too – 70 percent "go" during the window, according to the Air Force's 45th Weather Squadron. If the launch slips to Thursday, conditions are expected to improve slightly to 80 percent. The only noted concerns for both days are the possible violations of cumulus cloud and thick cloud layer rules. 
 
 Unlike other mysterious launches, such as ones for the National Reconnaissance Office, a member of the intelligence community and the Department of Defense, a spokesman for Northrop Grumman identified the payload customer only as the "U.S. government." 
 
 [SpaceX suffers Merlin rocket engine failure in Texas; no impact to launches] 
 
 [SpaceX rocket and drone ship sail into Port Canaveral at sunset] 
 
 “The U.S. government assigned Northrop Grumman the responsibility of acquiring launch services for this mission," said Lon Rains, communications director at Northrop Grumman's Space Systems Division and Space Park Design Center of Excellence in California. "We have procured the Falcon 9 launch service from SpaceX." 
 
 "This event represents a cost effective approach to space access for government missions," he said. 
 
 Neither SpaceX nor Northrop Grumman would provide additional details. 
 
 The fact that the rocket's booster will return for a propulsive landing at Cape Canaveral, however, reiterates the low-orbit insertion of the payload and could also indicate that it's comparatively lighter than previous SpaceX missions. Heavier satellites typically require drone ship landings or expendable first stages due to fuel constraints. 
 
 Zuma marks the 17th mission of the year for SpaceX – more than doubling last year's total of eight launches – and, if successful, the 20th landing of a Falcon 9 first stage since 2015. 
 
 But Wednesday's mission is just a kickoff for the Space Coast's launch holiday season – at least one more Eastern Range mission is on the books, the first of which is a scheduled supply run to the International Space Station on a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft for NASA. That mission will return SpaceX's Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to operation after a 2016 explosion destroyed much of its hardware. 
 
 Finally, the company previously said it is targeting before the end of the year for its highly anticipated Falcon Heavy demonstration flight. The vehicle, which features three Falcon cores and 27 engines, is expected to launch with a dummy payload and feature two first stage landings at Cape Canaveral and a third on the "Of Course I Still Love You" drone ship. SpaceX, however, has not confirmed an official date for the flight. 
 
 Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook at @EmreKelly. 
 
 Launch Wednesday 
 
 Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9 
 
 Mission: Zuma for Northrop Grumman / U.S. government 
 
 Launch Time: 8 p.m. 
 
 Launch Window: 10 p.m. 
 
 Launch Pad: 39A at Kennedy Space Center 
 
 Weather: 70 percent “go” 
 
 Backup launch date: Thursday 
 
 Join FloridaToday.com/Space at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday for countdown chat and updates, including streaming of SpaceX's launch webcast. 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://on.flatoday.com/2AE9IPp ||||| High-altitude winds nearly halted SpaceX’s first flight for a government agency Monday. 
 
 But CEO Elon Musk’s launch company went through with the Falcon 9 rocket launch at Launch Complex 39A, sending a spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office into orbit from Florida’s Space Coast. 
 
 “Launch and landing of the NRO spy satellite was good. Tough call, as high altitude wind shear was at 98.6% of the theoretical load limit,” Musk posted on Twitter just after liftoff. 
 
 Wind shear is the variation in wind speeds or direction at different altitudes. A large difference can harm rockets heading into space, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University meteorology professor Thomas Guinn said. 
 
 “If the wind shear were outside the range of pre-calculated, safe limits … the rocket wouldn’t be able to stay on trajectory,” he said. “Or worse, could potentially over stress the rocket, causing catastrophic failure.” 
 
 Just before the launch, Musk posted on Twitter, saying, “Winds aloft are unusually high (still within structural safety bounds). Worrying, but not a showstopper.” 
 
 About nine minutes after the rocket sent the satellite into space Monday, the first-stage booster made its acrobatic return to a soft landing at Launch Complex 39A on the coast. 
 
 It was the fourth time the company has recovered a rocket on land as it continues its effort to make reusable rockets routine. In late March, the company relaunched a rocket for the first time. 
 
 Musk has said that reusability is a key component of potentially sending a manned mission to Mars. On Monday, the Falcon 9 rocket took off at 7:15 a.m. — right on time — from the historic complex, which SpaceX leases from NASA. 
 
 The satellite launch had been scheduled for Sunday morning. 
 
 But a problem with one of the rocket’s hundreds of sensors resulted in a halt to the countdown about 52 seconds before scheduled launch time. 
 
 That meant a one-day delay. 
 
 “While this particular sensor did have a redundancy, readings were out of tolerance, so out of an abundance of caution, we opted to hold launch,” John Federspiel, a lead mechanical design engineer at SpaceX, said during a pre-launch broadcast Monday. 
 
 Monday’s launch represented the first time SpaceX has delivered a satellite into space for NRO. The company has been primarily focused on launching commercial satellites into space, along with cargo missions to the International Space Station. 
 
 The NRO launch had been highly anticipated because it marks the start of what some consider a new era of rocket launches, one characterized by competition between SpaceX and United Launch Alliance for government contracts. 
 
 For the last six years, at least, only United Launch Alliance has delivered government payloads into space. 
 
 Got a news tip? msantana@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5256; Twitter, @marcosantana 
 
 SpaceX launched the Department of Defense satellite NROL-76 on May 1, 2017 from Kennedy Space Center aboard its Falcon 9 rocket.
– SpaceX had a big morning: It successfully launched its first government satellite and got its rocket to return safely to Earth to boot. The company sent up the spy satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office aboard a Falcon 9 rocket at 7:15am from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, reports USA Today. Nine minutes later, the rocket returned to Cape Canaveral. Details of the spy satellite's mission are classified, reports Space.com, which adds that about the only thing known is that it will be in a low-Earth orbit. The Orlando Sentinel sees Monday's launch as a milestone because SpaceX has previously focused on cargo missions to the International Space Station or commercial telecom satellites. The launch of a government payload, then, marks the start of a new era of competition between SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, which had cornered the market on government launches in recent years.