Post by Alain FournierCan anyone identify this piece of space junk?
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/space-debris-farm-field-1.7204312
Alain Fournier
Well, astronomers have connected it with SpaceX. (If the "astonomers"
weren't Jonathon McDowell, they were probably using his online catalog
of launches and objects.)
Given that the connection is a launch in February, I'd guess it was a
piece of second stage. It appears to be an insulated portion, and the
exterior appears to have been dimpled (the rectangles), probably for
strength. Some rectangles are cutouts. The inside includes a hinged
anchor point.
That's not a lot of information to go on, since we don't see much of
the insides of a Falcon 2nd stage. The satellite carrier structure?
Something connected with gimbaling the motor? I haven't downloaded the
interface specs that SpaceX customers are provided with, which could
help confirm or refute the first possibility.
Note that interstages (and the pushers that separate the 2nd stage)
return to earth with the booster, and that fairings are self-separating
and land in the water long before the 2nd stage reaches orbit.
/dps
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