Post by JoannaL on Feb 13, 2022 5:52:30 GMT -5
Rogue Rocket on Collision Course with Moon
A massive rocket speeding through space on a collision course with the moon does not belong to SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp., an American aerospace manufacturer) despite earlier reports. Instead, it is now believed to be a spacecraft launched by China in 2014.
Ars Technica (a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, etc.) was the first to report on the mysterious object discovered by Bill Gray, developer of the astronomical software called Project Pluto. Gray updated his website Saturday (Feb. 12) to show the correction after being flagged by a NASA engineer who questioned his earlier claim. Gray said he checked his data and there is “good evidence” the object is a Chinese Chang’e 5-T1 rocket stage launched in October 2014. The earlier theory was that the object was SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage launched on February 11, 2015. On his website, Gray indicates the object will “still hit the moon within a few kilometers of the predicted spot on 2022 March 4 at 12:25 UTC, within a few seconds of the predicted time.”
Earlier this month, Mark Robinson, a professor of earth and space exploration at Arizona State University, said the object, which is believed to weigh around four tons and traveling a 5,700 mph, would create a crater approximately 65 feet in diameter.
Sources: Edmund DeMarche, Fox News, February 13, 2022; and Alice Gorman, Space.com, February 8, 2022.
