Astronomers noticed it was unlikely the piece of space junk was from the Falcon 9 launch in 2015, due to the gap between the rocket's trajectory and object.
Astronomers predict that on March 4th, a piece of a rocket launched in 2015 will crash into the moon. It's believed to be first time something man-made has accidentally crashed into the moon.
The launch marks the first reuse of an improved Falcon 9 "Block 5," which includes several upgrades designed to allow SpaceX to quickly refurbish and re-launch the rocket.
The multi-billion dollar satellite, launched by SpaceX, was initially thought to have made a successful low-Earth orbit, but there have been several unconfirmed reports since indicating it is lost.
The launch of the top-secret Zuma satellite into an undisclosed orbit ended with yet another pinpoint landing for the Falcon's first-stage booster, which will be reused.
The rocket carrying 10 satellites into low-earth orbit sparked alarm among some fearing a UFO. The Los Angeles Fire Department was prompted to release a statement about the "mysterious light."
Thursday the private company SpaceX plans on launching a satellite using a rocket that it has launched once before. Reusing equipment could make it cheaper to do business in deep space.
A "significant explosion" hit the SpaceX launch pad at Cape Canaveral early Thursday, destroying the unmanned rocket that was set to launch this weekend.
SpaceX was coming off a huge win last month when it landed a rocket on solid ground. Elon Musk took Sunday's failure in stride, saying at least the leftover pieces were bigger.
It's the first launch since a Falcon 9 rocket exploded in June, and the first recovery of a spent booster for SpaceX. Previous attempts were close but ended in failure.
The piece of rocket, most likely from the unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 that blew up after takeoff in June, was covered in barnacles and originally mistaken for a dead whale.
