Tag: Falcon 9

  • Discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 Stage Strikes the Moon, Offering Rare Research Opportunity

    Discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 Stage Strikes the Moon, Offering Rare Research Opportunity

    A discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 upper-stage rocket has crashed into the Moon after drifting through space for more than 18 months, marking one of the few known accidental impacts of human-made space debris on the lunar surface. The 4,000-kilogram rocket stage, originally launched in January 2025 to deploy Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Resilience lunar landers, struck the Moon at an estimated speed of 8,690 km/h (5,400 mph). Scientists believe the impact created a crater measuring roughly 20 to 40 metres across, although confirmation is expected only after orbital imagery becomes available.

    How the Falcon 9 Ended Up on a Collision Course

    Unlike the reusable first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, the upper stage is designed for a single mission. After successfully sending the two lunar landers toward the Moon, the stage exhausted its fuel and could not perform a controlled disposal manoeuvre. Instead of returning to Earth or entering a stable solar orbit, it remained in a high-Earth orbit that crossed the Moon’s path. Over time, a combination of solar radiation pressure and gravitational forces from the Earth and Moon gradually altered its trajectory, ultimately sending it toward the lunar surface. SpaceX has said the disposal method complied with existing safety regulations for high-energy missions but acknowledged that future disposal strategies are being evaluated with NASA and other agencies.

    Scientists See a Rare Research Opportunity

    Though the outcome was unexpected, researchers see a great chance for learning about the Moon’s surface and planning future space missions. The collision is believed to have produced a plume of dust and rock particles, which will help scientists study physical processes, crater formation, and the interaction between man-made objects and the lunar surface. As the collision took place on the illuminated part of the Moon near the Einstein Crater area, observing the event from Earth was not easy. However, satellites such as NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and South Korea’s Danuri should capture images before and after the event to detect the created crater.

    Growing Focus on Space Debris

    This incident has triggered a debate on how to handle space debris in view of the growing number of lunar expeditions. Beyond rocket stages that have impacted the Moon in the past—including one in 2022 and NASA experiments during the Apollo missions—the increasing number of commercial and governmental lunar missions poses new challenges for orbital sustainability. Space organizations and private firms are already seeking better ways to manage space debris from high-energy missions to ensure no abandoned spacecraft becomes a hazard. The Falcon 9 crash serves as a reminder that mission planning must account for deep-space travel’s unique challenges.

  • SpaceX Launches First Commercial Nuclear-Powered Satellite on Falcon 9

    SpaceX Launches First Commercial Nuclear-Powered Satellite on Falcon 9

    SpaceX has successfully launched the world’s first commercial nuclear-powered satellite into orbit, marking a significant milestone in the commercialization of space nuclear technology. The satellite, named BOHR (Betavoltaic Orbital High-Reliability CubeSat), was built by Miami-based City Labs and launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-17 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base on July 7.

    The BOHR satellite uses a novel betavoltaic battery system called NanoTritium, which generates electricity from the natural beta decay of tritium trapped in a metal hydride matrix. Unlike traditional radioisotope thermoelectric generators used by NASA on missions like Voyager or the Curiosity rover, this system has no moving parts, no liquid electrolytes, and virtually no fire risk. As the tritium fuel decays, it converts into helium-3, a stable, non-radioactive byproduct.

    City Labs CEO Peter Cabauy emphasized the significance of this achievement, stating, “This is a historic step for commercial nuclear power in space.” The mission demonstrates that nuclear energy systems are ready for commercial use, addressing a critical limitation of solar panels: they cease to function when not exposed to sunlight. Batteries can provide short-term power but cannot sustain long-duration operations.

    NASA has separately explored tritium betavoltaics for powering small autonomous sensors in permanently shadowed regions of the Moon, where extreme cold and total darkness make conventional batteries impractical. The BOHR mission also cleared a new regulatory path, becoming the first commercial nuclear payload to undergo the FAA’s dedicated review pathway established under National Security Presidential Memorandum-20 in 2019.

    The launch arrives alongside NASA and the Department of Energy’s continued development of a lunar surface fission reactor, targeting a first deployment by 2030. Cabauy described BOHR as a pathfinder, noting that the goal extends beyond City Labs to open the commercial nuclear space sector for other firms pursuing similar technology. “BOHR demonstrates that safe, compact, and regulatory-approved nuclear power systems are ready for routine commercial deployment. This capability enables persistent, always-on payload operations that are not constrained by sunlight or battery life,” he said.

    While the power output is modest, unsuitable for large-scale applications like lunar bases, Cabauy hopes it can scale toward larger applications over time, underscoring nuclear power as essential infrastructure for the next phase of deep space and lunar exploration.