Astronomers said that a defunct SpaceX booster rocket that Elon Musk's company sent beyond the moon in 2015 would swing back and smash into the lunar surface. Some experts now have to deal with space trash and debris as it would cause issues in the area.
The forecast was made by Bill Gray, an independent astronomer, on a blog page. Jonathan McDowell of the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, concurred with the findings on Twitter.
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.
— Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) January 25, 2022
NASA classified space trash as hundreds of defunct satellites, rocket boosters, and bits and pieces of spacecraft collected in Earth orbit.
Other satellites and astronauts onboard the International Space Station are at risk from these abandoned items. The collision with the moon moves the problem further away from Earth, suggesting that future moon astronauts may be at risk.
According to CBC Radio, the SpaceX launch that is currently colliding with the moon was used to propel a US space weather satellite 1.5 million kilometers from Earth to one of the Lagrange Points. A separate Lagrange Point is home to the new James Webb Space Telescope.
This long-exposure picture taken early on July 22, 2020, shows a view of the Milky Way galaxy rising in the sky through a hole left by a collapsed dome of a destroyed mosque in the town of Binnish in Syria's northwestern Idlib province.
How to Deal With Space Debris
For years, space specialists have been pondering alternative strategies to deal with collision concerns closer to home, particularly in low Earth orbit.
Companies to Remove Space Debris
Other firms, such as Astroscale and ClearSpace, are working on technology to catch and remove debris in space. Carolyn Belle, director of advanced systems at Astroscale, which has offices in Denver and Tokyo, said in a Wired report that the company's main mission is to enable safe and sustainable space development for future generations.
She adds that it's time to shift away from a "throwaway attitude" in space, where rockets and their payloads are kept in orbit eternally rather than recycled or disposed of.
Redirect Space Debris to Graveyard Orbit
The second option is to keep some fuel in the launcher, the same Wired report mentioned. Once it has delivered its cargo, it may be directed higher and journey to a relatively empty "graveyard orbit," more than 22,000 miles above the Earth, where there is essentially no danger of colliding. The launcher might also be aimed back down to Earth for missions in lower orbits.
It will burn up upon re-entry into the atmosphere if it is tiny enough. If it isn't, it may be designed to splash into an area of the water far away from shore, such as the South Pacific.
Convert Rocket Parts to Tiny Space Stations
Another concept being investigated by Houston-based Nanoracks and NASA partners is the conversion of spent rocket bodies into small space stations. Marshall Smith, the company's senior vice president of space systems, also told Wired that nearly half of the spacecraft that fly up there leave huge upper stages in orbit. It would be incredibly cost-effective if specialists could recycle and reuse those, Smith added.
If Smith and his colleagues' proposal comes to fruition, Nanoracks' spacecraft may start reconstructing a booster into a depot for replenishing satellites in orbit within a decade or so after a rocket body delivers its payload.
RELATED ARTICLE: Falcon 9 Rocket's Second Stage Will Likely Impact Moon's Equator After 7 Years of Floating Through Space
Check out more news and information on SpaceX in Science Times.
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