Rocket about to strike the Moon is not a Falcon 9

For a few weeks we've known that the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket was going to crash into the Moon on March 4th ... until yesterday that is when a NASA JPL engineer revealed that his investigation shows the suspected culprits trajectory doesn't take it particularly close to the Moon , a re-examination of the data suggests the offending rocket is more likely to be a Long March 3C rocket that was used in 2014 to launch China's Chang'e 5-T1 test mission that was a precursor for China's lunar sample return mission.

It was an engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Jon Giorgini, who realized this object was not in fact the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket. He wrote to Gray on Saturday morning explaining that the DSCOVR spacecraft's trajectory did not go particularly close to the Moon, and that it would therefore be a little strange if the second stage strayed close enough to strike it. This prompted Gray to dig back into his data, and identify other potential candidates.

He soon found one—the Chinese Chang'e 5-T1 mission launched in October 2014 on a Long March 3C rocket. This lunar mission sent a small spacecraft to the Moon as a precursor test for an eventual lunar sample return mission. The launch time and lunar trajectory are almost an exact match for the orbit of the object that will hit the Moon in March.
arstechnica.com...

So if it does land on China's Moon rover it's China's fault , wouldn't that be a glorious irony.

I am alright with these discarded stages crashing into the moon , i didnt get the fuss to begin with.

better to crash on the moon then risk it getting hit by non functional sats and create a million parts to add to the kessler syndrome.

Some wanted to fine Musk for it I wonder how they feel about China.

Actually kinda gutsy by the engineer.

We'll know if NASA "corrects" his findings and reassigns him to Antarctica.

originally posted by: TheGreazel
I am alright with these discarded stages crashing into the moon , i didnt get the fuss to begin with.

better to crash on the moon then risk it getting hit by non functional sats and create a million parts to add to the kessler syndrome.

Yup, very cool until one crashes into an alien base. then the SWHTF. The Greys will be pissed and think we are attacking them. You think Russia invading the Ukraine would be a be a big deal. This could turn into a real S*#t show with and alien invasion. Better be careful out there China you could put an eye with those things.

originally posted by: bladerunner44

originally posted by: TheGreazel
I am alright with these discarded stages crashing into the moon , i didnt get the fuss to begin with.

better to crash on the moon then risk it getting hit by non functional sats and create a million parts to add to the kessler syndrome.

Yup, very cool until one crashes into an alien base. then the SWHTF. The Greys will be pissed and think we are attacking them. You think Russia invading the Ukraine would be a be a big deal. This could turn into a real S*#t show with and alien invasion. Better be careful out there China you could put an eye with those things.

Pretty sure they can handle a bit of space debris coming at them if they have taken up residence there...just sayin .

a reply to: gortex

Did any of the prior vehicles man has sent to the Moon use booster rockets that subsequently crashed into the Moon?

a reply to: gortex

#$%^ Chinese !!

First the Wuhan Virus, now they are littering the moon with their garbage .....

a reply to: gortex

So SpaceX hadn't bothered to check their own data to determine if it actually was their's in the first place?

They just accepted it as, "OK yeah. It must be ours. Sorry."

I mean, you'd think they would've cared enough to investigate and see if it was even possible that it was their equipment, after being accused of it.

originally posted by: firerescue
a reply to: gortex

#$%^ Chinese !!

First the Wuhan Virus, now they are littering the moon with their garbage .....

We are Human. That's what we do. We leave garbage in our wake everywhere we go. You can't possibly be that upset about this.

a reply to: BrokenCircles

They may have checked their calculations, found it to be plausible and moved on. It likely means that their rocket stage will impact the moon at some point in that case.

a reply to: bladerunner44

We have been crashing stuff into the moon since the beginning of the space age.

Intentional or unintentional

Luna 15 and the NASA LCROSS mission out of my head , probably multiple others as well.

But nevertheless funny comment.

originally posted by: mikell
Some wanted to fine Musk for it I wonder how they feel about China.

Who would they pay the fine to???
the aliens? who owns the moon?

US claims some landing sites.
but even on earth you have to live there!
Not just leave some rubbish.

originally posted by: carewemust
a reply to: gortex

Did any of the prior vehicles man has sent to the Moon use booster rockets that subsequently crashed into the Moon?

Yes , the Russians crashed a rocket in the 50s , NASA intentionally crashed into the Moon in 2012 and Israel's Moon lander accidentally crashed on the Moon a couple of years ago, there have probably been others too.

originally posted by: mikell
Some wanted to fine Musk for it I wonder how they feel about China.

Who would have jurisdiction?