There are lots of old urban legends from the early days of space travel, but we've also

got at least one good one, a really good one, from modern times.

It was a mystery launch of a secret spacecraft called Zuma.

Nobody knew what it was, and when it was announced that its launch had failed, amateur experts

figured out that the announcement was probably a smoke screen, and Zuma might still be up there.

The Phantom Satellite is coming up next on Skeptoid.

You're listening to Skeptoid.

I'm Brian Dunning from Skeptoid.com.

Zuma, the Phantom Satellite.

It was January 8, 2018, a clear night at Cape Canaveral.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched beautifully, casting a brilliant light over the dark marshes.

Minutes later, the spent first stage separated and fell away, and the second stage burst into

life and sped the craft even higher, aiming for whatever orbit that payload would eventually

assume.

The payload fairings detached and tumbled away as planned once the craft was out of the

atmosphere, and the secretive satellite, known only as Zuma, was exposed to space.

As a rocket at higher and higher still attached to the SpaceX second stage, the media broadcasts

cut off for secrecy purposes.

All we know about what happened next is a series of seemingly contradictory events that

guaranteed Zuma will inspire lively debate to both space historians and conspiracy theorists

alike for quite some time.

Today, we're going to point the skeptical eye at what's known, what's rumored, and some

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