Just to be clear, I don't expect to hear anything about the success or
failure of Zuma from Northrup Grumman or anyone else for that matter
because it was classified.
I believe SpaceX when they say their rocket functioned nominally, since
there doesn't appear to be any change of plans ala what is happening on
the ground.
Regarding facts, in the past, the question of whether an object achieved
orbit or not is usually addressed by the amateur satellite tracking
community. All they can say is what can be derived publicly, that an
object was discovered in orbit with the orbital elements that could
align with a launch that took place from such-and-such a place at
such-and-such a time with inclination x, altitude y, etc. It is not
definite proof that A == A, but it's about as close as we will get. Even
so, what cannot be determined is if that object is operating as intended.
Dave
On 1/9/2018 3:27 PM, William Claybaugh wrote:
As a manager, I long ago understood that this sort of conversation reveals a lot about the character of the—in this case—poster and little to nothing about the facts.
The US Government and it’s intelligence agencies in particular try to avoid false statements (WH excepted);I have seen people “lie” to the extent that if pushed into a corner by a direct question they will say they don’t know rather than reveal classified information—I have so done myself.
I have also seen disinformation operations directed against foreigners get picked up by the US press; I am unaware of any domestic disinformation operations run by NRO, CIA, or any other foreign focused intelligence agency. To my knowledge, only the FBI has engaged in disinformation directed at the US public.
NRO launches are public because they can’t be hidden; saying nothing about them is the preferred and standard practice. Lying about then is not.
Bill
On Tue, Jan 9, 2018 at 11:28 AM David Spain <david.l.spain@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:david.l.spain@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
On 1/8/2018 11:20 PM, BrianK ABQ wrote:
> Any confirmation that the Zuma payload was a complete loss??
>
>
https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/01/the-zuma-satellite-launched-by-spacex-may-be-lost-sources-tell-ars/
Wait a few weeks, see if the semi-pro "amateur" spy sat trackers find
it. If so, then no, otherwise likely yes.