Portion of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on a collision course with the moon

Billionaire Elon MuskSpaceX will see a vehicle reach the moon much sooner and under much different conditions than the company imagined.

The Moon has been a source of great interest for both SpaceX and NASA; The two organizations are working in partnership with Musk’s company to develop a lunar lander that can allow astronauts to go to the surface. Musk also has a vision of leading SpaceX’s effort to build a city on the moon.

However, SpaceX’s Starship will not be the company’s first rocket to reach the moon.

Instead, part of the Falcon 9 rocket is on a collision course with the Moon after orbiting high above the Earth for more than a year. At least that’s the conclusion of an independent astronomer who used orbital tracking software to determine the approximate date, location and speed of the piece of hardware when it hit our world. heavenly neighbour.

And, somewhat ironically, the Falcon 9 in question was the same launch vehicle used in January 2025 to propel a commercial US lunar lander on a much more controlled journey to the lunar surface.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Falcon 9 rocket and why it had to crash into the Moon.

Astronomer predicts fragment of Falcon 9 will hit the moon

Since January 2025, part of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has been orbiting high above the Earth, taking 26 days to complete one orbit around the planet.

But on August 5, the portion of the launch vehicle known as the upper stage is expected to hit the near side of the moon, which is constantly facing Earth.

This prediction comes from widely used astronomer Bill Gray. Pluto Project Software that tracks near-Earth objects such as asteroids, comets, and human-made spacecraft. Gray’s analysis was based on ground observations from telescopes and studies of the orbit of the upper stage.

Since the Moon has no atmosphere, this particular upper stage will not burn up before hitting the Moon; Gray estimates this will happen at 2:44 am. The object, called 2025-010D, will be traveling at about 2.43 kilometers per second, or 5,400 miles per hour, when it hits the moon, according to Gray’s analysis.

What is the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket?

SpaceX hawk 9 The rocket is the most active rocket in the world.

The 230-foot-tall two-stage rocket is classified as a medium-lift launch vehicle that can carry approximately 50,000 pounds of cargo into orbit.

SpaceX launched Falcon 9 hundreds of times from both sides Florida’s Space Coast And Vandenberg Space Force Base Starlink is in California to deliver broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit. Falcon 9 is also the only American-made rocket to carry astronauts to SpaceX. Dragon The crew capsule was sent to the International Space Station.

The Falcon 9’s 45-foot upper stage is designed to travel in orbit after separating from the lower stage, which provides initial thrust during liftoff. The SpaceX rocket’s lower stage, also known as the booster, eventually returns to Earth for a controlled descent and is recovered to be reused for future launches.

To do Elon Musk Have your own SpaceX? Things to know about the rocket company

SpaceX is a commercial spaceflight company founded by Musk, the richest man in the world, in 2002.

SpaceX, the cornerstone of Musk’s business empire, leverages billions of dollars in government contracts to provide launch services for classified satellites and other payloads using both the Falcon 9 rocket and the Falcon 9 rocket. more powerful Falcon Heavy.

SpaceX is also developing its massive Starship rocket at its Starbase headquarters in South Texas. Considered the world’s largest rocket, Starship may be at the center of SpaceX and NASA’s goals of sending people to the moon and Mars.

Musk lately Merged SpaceX with xAI company It is perhaps best known for Musk’s development of the Grok AI chatbot, which started as a feature on social media platform X. The move comes as SpaceX prepares for a highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) that is widely regarded as having the capacity to make the company one of the most valuable companies in the world.

Falcon 9 launches Moon lander in 2025

The upper stage of the Falcon 9, which is on track to crash into the moon, is believed to be part of the same rocket that launched from Florida in January 2025 and carried an uncrewed lunar lander.

That person who landed on the moon? Texas-based spaceflight company Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost vehicle is preparing to return humans to the surface in 2028 as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, while its next version will return to the moon in 2026.

Blue Ghost The lunar lander departed for Earth orbit on January 15, 2025, atop NASA’s Falcon 9 rocket, which took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center near Cape Canaveral.

Blue Ghost began surface operations as part of its mission after becoming the second commercial US spacecraft to reach the moon’s surface in March 2025. $101.5 million Mission to deploy 10 science instruments to test the lunar environment for NASA. The technology was used for a full lunar day, which is equivalent to approximately 14 Earth days.

As the payload fairing that protected the lander before deployment re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, the upper stage continued to orbit the Earth without ever reentering and burning up, Gray wrote.

Can you see the effect of the moon? Is it dangerous

It is unlikely that skywatchers will be able to see the Falcon 9 upper stage impact the moon, even with Earth-based telescopes. This is because, as Gray explains, the effect is too weak for observations.

Gray wrote on his website that the impact “does not pose any danger to anyone” and will not create any significant changes or damage to the moon’s surface. But he added: “This highlights a certain carelessness in how space hardware (space junk) is disposed of.”

Eric Lagatta is a Space Connect correspondent for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com.

This article first appeared on USA TODAY: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will hit the Earth-facing side of the Moon