Multiple reports say a spent SpaceX rocket stage is expected to collide with the Moon, with impact speed estimates varying by source but both describing a very fast, predicted event. Stuff.co.nz reports the stage is expected to strike the lunar surface at up to about 8,700 kilometres per hour (around 5,400 mph) and estimates the impact could be roughly equivalent to an explosive yield of about three tons of TNT. TechRadar similarly describes the impact as occurring at about 5,400 mph (around seven times the speed of sound), stressing that the crash is not a deliberate mission landing but an unplanned stage re-entry that was nevertheless anticipated. Both accounts frame the event as something scientists can observe rather than a surprise. TechRadar also notes that two lunar orbiters are expected to monitor the crash, indicating that observational coverage is planned in advance. Together, the articles portray a controlled-by-prediction scenario: the crash timing and trajectory are known well enough for tracking, and the expected energy is high enough to produce a significant impact event that NASA and other observers may study.
SpaceX upper stage expected to crash into the Moon in a planned, monitored impact
Multiple reports say a spent SpaceX rocket stage is expected to collide with the Moon, with impact speed estimates varying by source but both describing a very fast, predicted event. Stuff.co.nz repor...
- A spent SpaceX rocket stage is expected to hit the Moon’s surface.
- Estimated impact speed is about 5,400 mph (around 7 times the speed of sound), with another estimate of up to about 8,700 km/h.
- The crash is described as predicted/anticipated rather than a deliberate landing or landing maneuver.
- The impact energy is estimated at roughly the equivalent of about three tons of TNT.
- Lunar orbiters are expected to monitor the event.
A dead SpaceX upper stage is set to hit the Moon at 5,400 mph. Nobody planned it; everybody saw it coming, and two orbiters will be watching.
3 hours agoA part of a SpaceX rocket is set to crash into the surface of the moon at up to 8700kph, it’s predicted, triggering an explosive impact equivalent to three tons of TNT.
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