#AceNewsReport – Jan.27: But after completing a long burn of its engines and sending the NOAAβs Deep Space Climate Observatory on its way to the Lagrange point β a gravity-neutral position four times further than the moon and in direct line with the sun β the rocketβs second stage became derelict.
#AceDailyNews says according to Guardian (Australia) News Report: Falcon 9 booster, launched from Florida in 2015 to deploy Deep Space Climate Observatory, has followed βchaoticβ orbit since, the booster was originally launched from Florida in February 2015 as part of an interplanetary mission to send a space weather satellite on a million-mile journey by Samantha Lock
A SpaceX rocket is on a collision course with the moon after spending almost seven years hurtling through space, experts say.
At this stage it was high enough that it did not have enough fuel to return to Earthβs atmosphere but also βlacked the energy to escape the gravity of the Earth-Moon systemβ, meteorologist Eric Berger explained in a recent post on Ars Technica.
βSo it has been following a somewhat chaotic orbit since February 2015,β Berger added.
Space observers believe the rocket β about four metric tonnes of βspace junkβ β is on course to intersect with the moon at a velocity of about 2.58km/s in a matter of weeks.
Bill Gray, who writes software to track near-Earth objects, asteroids, minor planets, and comets, has said the Falcon 9βs upper stage will very likely hit the far side of the moon, near the equator, on 4 March.
The data analyst said in a recent blog post that the object βmade a close lunar flyby on January 5β but will make βa certain impact at March 4β.
βThis is the first unintentional case [of space junk hitting the moon] of which I am aware,β Gray added.
The exact spot the rocket will hit remains unclear due to the unpredictable effect of sunlight βpushingβ on the rocket and βambiguity in measuring rotation periodsβ which may slightly alter its orbit.
βThese unpredictable effects are very small. But they will accumulate between now and March 4,β Gray wrote, adding that further observations were needed to refine the precise time and location of the impact.
As for whether the collision could be viewed from Earth, Gray says it will probably go unobserved.
βThe bulk of the moon is in the way, and even if it were on the near side, the impact occurs a couple of days after New Moon.β
Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at Harvard University, wrote that the impact was due on 4 March but was βnot a big dealβ.
For those asking: yes, an old Falcon 9 second stage left in high orbit in 2015 is going to hit the moon on March 4. It’s interesting, but not a big deal.β Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) January 25, 2022
Nevertheless, space enthusiasts believe the impact could provide valuable data.
Berger believes the event will allow for observation of subsurface material ejected by the rocketβs strike, while Gray says he is βrooting for a lunar impactβ.
βWe already know what happens when junk hits the Earth; thereβs not much to learn from that,β he said.
#AceNewsDesk report ……….Published: Jan.27: 2022:
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