Much has been written so far about the mysterious launch, code-named ZUMA, that SpaceX has reportedly scheduled for November. This writer would like to put his two pennies’ worth in: the ZUMA flight might be a first “Hail Mary” attempt to land a reusable Falcon 9 upper stage.
In March of this year, SpaceX leader Elon Musk suggested that his engineers were working on the technology to make a “fully reusable” Falcon 9, which would have a reusable upper stage in addition to the reusable first stage. The firm also hopes to reuse the fairing halves and is working on recovery techniques for these. Musk noted in a tweet at the time that he was “fairly confident we can reuse (the) upper stage” and hoped that a fully reusable rocket would be flying in 2018. He has also suggested that it would be fun to do a “Hail Mary” attempt to land an upper stage.
The flight, which is being launched from Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A pad, will carry a live payload. A Northrop Grumman-built “government” satellite payload is reported by NASASpaceflight.com to be on board.
The latest flight information specifically notes that a landing will be made at the nearby LZ-1 on-shore landing site at Cape Canaveral, Florida. This could also be used to land the second stage, which would re-enter at orbital speed and then perform a similar vertical landing to that of the first stage.
The Upper Stage would need special thermal protection to make it reusable. Courtesy SpaceX
