SpaceX engineers posing in front of a Falcon 9 Stage 2 upper stage. Credit: SpaceX

Notices where this attachment appears

1. Embed this notice
   AkaSci 🛰️ (akasci@fosstodon.org)'s status on Wednesday, 05-Aug-2026 13:24:43 JST AkaSci 🛰️

   in reply to

   The SpaceX Falcon upper stage, that will crash into the Moon on Aug 5, is catalogued as 2025-010D, and is 13.8 m long, 3.7 m in diameter and weighs ~4,900 kg.

   Why was it loitering in an unstable moon-crossing orbit?

   ESA’s Space Debris Office had proposed a solution back in 2015 that spent boosters on lunar missions should enter orbit around the Sun. But, the guidance is probably treated as voluntary.

   https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/spacex-booster-will-hit-the-moon-this-august/
   https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Preparing_for_the_Future/Discovery_and_Preparation/End-of-life_disposal_of_satellites
   2/n