In March this year, a large amount of space junk collided with the moon. However, speculation arose that this space junk, known to belong to Space X, was actually ‘made in China’.
On the 21st of last month, Bill Gray, a software developer related to astronomy, announced that “a rocket wreck will hit the far side of the moon on March 4, leaving behind a crater measuring 20 meters in size.” He observed that the rocket debris was part of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. It is said that the upper part of the rocket launched by SpaceX in 2015 does not dissipate and is floating in space.
However, Bill Gray recently revised these observations. According to Space News, a space media outlet, Bill Gray corrected that the large space debris that will hit the moon on the 12th is not the upper part of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. He instead assumed it was part of the upper-end of a long-range-3C rocket launched by China.
Prior to the launch of the lunar probe Chang’e 5 in October 2014, China launched the unmanned lunar landers Chang’e 5-T1 and Changjing-3C rockets. Bill Gray said the upper cargo hold of the Changjeong-3C rocket is space junk. The reason is that the orbit of the Changjeong-3C rocket in 2014 coincided with the orbit of this space junk. “There is circumstantial evidence, but I think it’s convincing,” he said.
Chinese media have strongly criticized SpaceX for Bill Gray’s first announcement last month. China’s state-run Global Times reported that the wreckage of a SpaceX rocket that lost control might weigh as much as 4 tons. “The remains of satellites and rockets launched by SpaceX pose a threat to spacecraft in other countries,” he said.
Meanwhile, China was the country that launched the most rockets into space last year. According to Ars Technica, an American IT media outlet, out of 144 rocket launches worldwide, China accounted for 55. Chinese media Pengpai reported on the 6th of last month that China launched a rocket every 6.6 days last year, surpassing the United States and Russia to become the country with the most space launches.
I wonder if the rocket that will collide on the far side of the moon is ‘made in China’ and what kind of opinion China will make.
Source = Media Bamboo
Arrangement = Reporter Hyungi Kim [email protected]
