SpaceX to try and launch the mysterious Zuma satellite again [Updated]

Enlarge / The Falcon 9 rocket and its Zuma payload are seen on the launch pad in November. (credit: SpaceX)

2:30pm ET Tuesday update: The Zuma launch attempt has slipped 24 hours, to Friday evening.

Original post: Fresh off a year with a record 18 orbital launches, SpaceX is set to try its first mission of the new year on Thursday. Less than two weeks since its last flight, the company returns to Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida for the launch of the secretive "Zuma" mission for the US government.

Originally planned for November, an undisclosed issue with the Falcon 9 rocket's fairing caused SpaceX to delay the launch for several weeks and eventually move the date forward to January 4. The fairing is the cap at the top of the rocket that protects its payload during the dynamic launch environment; it is then jettisoned once the spacecraft climbs above Earth's atmosphere.

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