Falcon 9 upper stage to impact Moon
A Falcon 9 upper stage launched in February 2015 is apparently now on a course to impact the Moon this coming March.
According to Bill Gray, who writes the widely used Project Pluto software to track near-Earth objects, asteroids, minor planets, and comets, such an impact could come in March.
Earlier this month, Gray put out a call for amateur and professional astronomers to make additional observations of the stage, which appears to be tumbling through space. With this new data, Gray now believes that the Falcon 9’s upper stage will very likely impact the far side of the Moon, near the equator, on March 4.
Grey’s call out for more measurements is because there are uncertainties about this prediction. To prepare for observations of the impact by a variety of lunar orbiters, researchers need better data.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
A Falcon 9 upper stage launched in February 2015 is apparently now on a course to impact the Moon this coming March.
According to Bill Gray, who writes the widely used Project Pluto software to track near-Earth objects, asteroids, minor planets, and comets, such an impact could come in March.
Earlier this month, Gray put out a call for amateur and professional astronomers to make additional observations of the stage, which appears to be tumbling through space. With this new data, Gray now believes that the Falcon 9’s upper stage will very likely impact the far side of the Moon, near the equator, on March 4.
Grey’s call out for more measurements is because there are uncertainties about this prediction. To prepare for observations of the impact by a variety of lunar orbiters, researchers need better data.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Would be a shame if it hit the chinese rover.
On a rare nighttime walk, Musk cast his eyes up towards the bright half illuminated moon, and said quietly to himself “All is going according to Plan”.
I absolutely agree with BtB. Elon is up to something. He planned on going to the moon before Lex Luthor Muhuahhh
The Genesis Torpedo
The review of the Times of London of Werner Von Braun’s “I Shot for the Stars” was succinct – “But I hit London instead”
Tom Lehrer’s Werner Von Braun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEJ9HrZq7Ro
And then there was the Snark that went rogue
“Realizing that the vehicle could crash anywhere south of Puerto Rico, AFMTC officials alerted the State Department, whose reaction is not recorded.”
https://www.airforcemag.com/article/1204snark/
Analog had a great article about being a range safety officer called “Pushing the Button” in the Eighties – and the reason the position of RSO was instituted is that a V2 from White Sands had impacted in Mexico (in a graveyard)
“It was May 29, 1947. Here is the El Paso Times report:
El Paso and Juarez were rocked Thursday night when a runaway German V-2 rocket fired from the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico crashed and exploded on top of a rocky knoll three and a half miles south of the Juarez business district.”
https://gizmodo.com/remember-the-time-we-bombed-mexico-with-german-rockets-5909476
If it missed the Mon, what would happen? I assume it wouldn’t hit the Earth or we would be hearing about that. It would change it’s orbit, but would it ever come back around and get near us again?
Darwin Teague: The stage would remain in Earth orbit, with its new orbit calculated. It is unlikely that new orbit would intersect the Earth, but even if it did, this is an upper stage that would burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.
There is a slight chance that an inner helium tank might reach the surface (as has happened once in the past), but the chances of it landing on land are only 30%.
That being said, based on the present calculations the astronomers seem confident it will hit the Moon.
In other words, the stage poses no real threat.
Well it appears that the topic of an old SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage hitting the moon is just so critically earth shattering that Mr. Z. drops in to comment.
No matter that on other contentious posts, Bobby Hill is slanderously accusing BtB – “Covid denialism is responsible for prolonging the pandemic and tragedies like this. I am glad to see talk of holding people accountable for profiteering and other malfeasance during the pandemic”. At the same time others are throwing around the rhetorical bomb of ‘Fauci equals Mengele’. And of course let’s not discuss 21st Century Geopolitics, the Chinese recreation of the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the undeclared war by the CCP on America, or how History can inform our opinions on subjects besides U.S. & Soviet accomplishments in Space during the last half of the 20th century.
I don’t understand how someone with historical training can pass off ‘Fire the evil politicians and their Bureaucratic minions’ as serious analysis. I’ll end with one BtB quote “I welcome all opinions, even those that strongly criticize my commentary.”