--- title: U.S. Spy Satellite Launched by SpaceX Failed to Reach Orbit description: A U.S. spy satellite that was launched aboard a SpaceX rocket failed to reach orbit and is assumed to be a total loss canonical: https://time.com/5094467/spacex-us-spy-satellite-destroyed/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-09T03:24:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:48:13.482Z article:section: Science og:title: U.S. Spy Satellite Launched by SpaceX Failed to Reach Orbit og:description: It is believed to be destroyed og:url: https://time.com/5094467/spacex-us-spy-satellite-destroyed/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5da54451ec0d101f/6988f7638fd2ee51d035a3de/gettyimages-691964694.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Eleventh Commercial Resupply Services Mission og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. Spy Satellite Launched by SpaceX Failed to Reach Orbit twitter:description: It is believed to be destroyed twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5da54451ec0d101f/6988f7638fd2ee51d035a3de/gettyimages-691964694.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The U.S. Spy Satellite Launched by SpaceX Failed to Reach Orbit by [Reuters](https://time.com/author/reuters/) ## Reuters Jan 9, 2018 3:24 AM UTC  In this handout provided by NASA, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Kennedy Space Center on June 3, 2017. In this handout provided by NASA, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Kennedy Space Center on June 3, 2017.Bill Ingalls—NASA/Getty Images by [Reuters](https://time.com/author/reuters/) ## Reuters Jan 9, 2018 3:24 AM UTC A U.S. spy satellite that was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a SpaceX rocket on Sunday failed to reach orbit and is assumed to be a total loss, two U.S. officials briefed on the mission said on Monday. The classified intelligence satellite, built by Northrop Grumman, failed to separate from the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket and is assumed to have broken up or plunged into the sea, said the two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The satellite is assumed to be “a write-off,” one of the officials said. The presumed loss of the satellite was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Northrop Grumman built the multibillion-dollar satellite, code-named Zuma, and was responsible for choosing the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle, both officials said. An investigation is under way, but there is no initial indication of sabotage or other interference, they said. SpaceX spokesman James Gleeson said: “We do not comment on missions of this nature; but as of right now reviews of the data indicate Falcon 9 performed nominally.” Space Exploration Technologies Corp, led by entrepreneur Elon Musk, launched its first satellite for the U.S. military with its Falcon 9 rocket in May of last year. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5094467/spacex-us-spy-satellite-destroyed/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5094467/spacex-us-spy-satellite-destroyed/"},"headline":"The U.S. Spy Satellite Launched by SpaceX Failed to Reach Orbit","datePublished":"2018-01-09T03:24:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:48:13.482Z","description":"It is believed to be destroyed","url":"https://time.com/5094467/spacex-us-spy-satellite-destroyed/","keywords":["Space","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5da54451ec0d101f/6988f7638fd2ee51d035a3de/gettyimages-691964694.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Reuters","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/reuters/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5da54451ec0d101f/6988f7638fd2ee51d035a3de/gettyimages-691964694.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Eleventh Commercial Resupply Services Mission","caption":"Eleventh Commercial Resupply Services Mission","creditText":"Bill Ingalls—NASA/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5094467/spacex-us-spy-satellite-destroyed/","name":"The U.S. Spy Satellite Launched by SpaceX Failed to Reach Orbit"}}]}] ```