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SpaceX Falcon 9 Upper Stage Set to Impact Moon on Aug 5, 2026
An abandoned upper stage of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, launched on 15 January 2025 from Kennedy Space Center, will strike the Moon on 5 August 2026 at approximately 06:34 UTC. The 4‑ton, about 12‑13.8‑metre‑long stage, which carried the private lunar landers Blue Ghost‑1 (Firefly Aerospace) and Hakuto‑R Resilience (ispace), entered a highly elliptical Earth‑Moon orbit after completing its mission. Astronomer Bill Gray identified its collision course, projecting impact near the Einstein crater on the Moon’s eastern limb, where the surface will be sun‑lit. The stage will impact at roughly 2.43 km s⁻¹ (≈8,700 km h⁻¹), creating a fresh crater 20–30 metres wide and about 5 metres deep. The event will generate a dust plume that could rise 15–20 km, with spikes possibly reaching 75–100 km, and a brief flash that may be observable from Earth and lunar orbiters such as LRO and KPLO. No hazard to Earth is expected. Scientists view the impact as a rare controlled‑impact experiment to study lunar surface physics, ejecta dynamics and seismic wave propagation.
Entities
Bill Gray · Blue Ghost-1 · Blue Ghost‑1 · Einstein crater · Falcon 9 · Falcon 9 upper stage · Hakuto‑R Resilience · Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter · Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter · Moon · SpaceX · SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [● 10 SOURCES] The Falcon 9 upper stage will impact the Moon on 5 August 2026 at approximately 06:35 UTC. www.adnkronos.com · quotidianodifoggia.it · www.sudefuturi.it · quotidianodibari.it · agron.com.br · +5 more
- [● 9 SOURCES] The stage was left in a highly eccentric orbit after launching the Blue Ghost‑1 and Hakuto‑R Resilience missions in January 2025. www.adnkronos.com · quotidianodifoggia.it · www.sudefuturi.it · quotidianodibari.it · agron.com.br · +4 more
- [● 9 SOURCES] The new crater is expected to be 20–30 metres in diameter. www.adnkronos.com · quotidianodifoggia.it · www.sudefuturi.it · quotidianodibari.it · agron.com.br · +4 more
- [● 9 SOURCES] Observations will be attempted from Earth, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter. www.adnkronos.com · quotidianodifoggia.it · www.sudefuturi.it · quotidianodibari.it · agron.com.br · +4 more
- [● 10 SOURCES] Impact velocity will be about 2.43 kilometres per second. www.adnkronos.com · quotidianodifoggia.it · www.sudefuturi.it · quotidianodibari.it · agron.com.br · +5 more
- [DISPUTED] Impact will occur near the Einstein crater on the Moon’s eastern limb. www.adnkronos.com · quotidianodifoggia.it · www.sudefuturi.it · quotidianodibari.it · agron.com.br · +5 more
- [● 9 SOURCES] Astronomer Bill Gray identified the collision trajectory using the Find_Orb software. www.adnkronos.com · quotidianodifoggia.it · www.sudefuturi.it · quotidianodibari.it · agron.com.br · +4 more
- [● 10 SOURCES] The upper stage has a mass of about four tonnes. www.adnkronos.com · quotidianodifoggia.it · www.sudefuturi.it · quotidianodibari.it · agron.com.br · +5 more
- [● 6 SOURCES] The impact will create a crater roughly 20‑30 m in diameter and about 5 m deep. www.elnacional.cat · www.negocios.com · www.fakt.pl · niezalezna.pl · sita.sk · +1 more
- [● 7 SOURCES] The stage launched on 15 January 2025 from Kennedy Space Center, carrying Blue Ghost‑1 and Hakuto‑R Resilience. www.negocios.com · www.elnacional.cat · sita.sk · www.fakt.pl · niezalezna.pl · +2 more
- [● 6 SOURCES] The impact may be visible from Earth as a brief flash. www.elnacional.cat · www.negocios.com · www.fakt.pl · niezalezna.pl · sita.sk · +1 more
- [● 2 SOURCES] Blue Ghost‑1 landed successfully on the Moon on 2 March 2025. www.negocios.com · www.adnkronos.com