"The object, dubbed 2025-10D, is in an orbit around the Earth, taking about 26 days to go around us. The orbit is lopsided; at its closest (perigee), the object is about 220,000 kilometers away. At its farthest, it gets out to 510,000 km. For comparison, the moon is about 385,000 km away."
"The orbit of the Moon and of this object, roughly speaking, intersect. Usually, one goes through the intersection point while the other is someplace else. But on August 5, they'll reach that point at the same time."
"It doesn't present any danger to anyone, though it does highlight a certain carelessness about how leftover space hardware is disposed of."
"As for its speed when it hits the lunar surface, Gray said: 2.43 kilometers a second, or 1.51 miles a second, or 5,400 miles an hour, or 8,700 kilometers an hour."
The Falcon 9 upper stage, launched on January 15, 2025, is expected to collide with the Moon on August 5 after orbiting Earth for over a year. The first stage landed successfully, but the second stage remained in space. Astronomer Bill Gray noted that the object, 2025-10D, has a lopsided orbit around Earth, intersecting with the Moon's path. Gray emphasized that while the impact poses no danger, it raises concerns about the disposal of space debris.
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