SpaceX targeting November for mysterious 'Zuma' launch from KSC

SpaceX is targeting November for the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center on a mysterious mission codenamed "Zuma" for Northrop Grumman, according to federal filings and company statements.

SpaceX confirmed on Tuesday that pad 39A will play host to the secretive mission "no earlier than November," though the Air Force's 45th Space Wing said teams are targeting Nov. 15 for the launch.

The mission will include a first stage landing attempt at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Landing Zone 1, according to documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission seeking special temporary authority for "SpaceX Mission 1390." As usual, the Space Coast can expect the powerful reverberation of a sonic boom across the region as the booster descends shortly after liftoff.

Northrop Grumman confirmed to FLORIDA TODAY that it selected Falcon 9 for Zuma, which was described as a "government mission."

[SpaceX booster arrives at Port Canaveral hours after Atlas V launch]

[First four engines for NASA's Space Launch System ready to rumble]

“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. "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.

While further details on the spacecraft were not available, the landing does offer some clues – Falcon 9's ability to make the long trek back to the Cape indicates that it likely will not be a large, heavy payload, at least compared to other missions that require drone ship landings or expendable boosters.

Before Zuma takes flight, SpaceX is tasked with launching KT SAT's Koreasat-5A commercial communications satellite mission into a geostationary transfer orbit from KSC no earlier than Oct. 30 during a two-hour window that opens at 3:34 p.m. The Falcon 9's first stage is expected to target a drone ship landing.

The premiere flight of SpaceX's three-core Falcon Heavy rocket, which CEO Elon Musk said would launch from pad 39A in November, will seemingly be delayed due to Zuma's launch from the same pad. Teams are expected to take at least a few weeks to retrofit 39A for Falcon Heavy's much-vaunted first flight.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook at @EmreKelly.