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After a bit of low drama I've come to accept that Roadster is space junk and agree with this answer.

After reading this answer about space junk in orbit around Earth, I'd like to ask if there is a database similar to the one linked there but for space junk beyond Earth's orbit, and if so, is Roadster in it yet?

uhoh
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  • Hey! Roadster isn't junk yet! Or at least... I don't think it would be non-functional. That there is still a functioning automobile! Resale price might be a bit hampered by the cost of relocation though... – Magic Octopus Urn May 01 '19 at 17:55

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Check out this List of lists of artificial objects on Wikipedia. It contains a list of artificial objects in heliocentric orbits, including the Roadster, a List of artificial objects leaving the Solar System and a List of solar System probes.

I however don't know of a list combining all three of those. Also apparently some upper stages are missing in the first list.

Hans
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    While not an "official list of space junk" (Voyagers are not yet junk) this is a great list, and there's Roadster! – uhoh Apr 21 '18 at 16:30
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You may want to look at https://www.space-track.org/ This is the database used by theStuffin Space project. Previously AGI provided a database, but I don't believe this is freely downloadable anymore.

Edit: I contacted space-track.org and they do support other objects:

Yes, anything that launched is generally available regardless of orbit. You can get this by searching the SatCat table https://www.space-track.org/#catalog for "tesla".

Here is the API link to the roadster from the SatCat table: https://www.space-track.org/basicspacedata/query/class/satcat/NORAD_CAT_ID/43205/format/html/emptyresult/show

Andre M
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    I did indeed misread your question, I have edited my answer accordingly. – Andre M Apr 28 '19 at 01:41
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    It happens to me too, in fact just a half-day ago I had to create a new question to make a place to move an answer after I re-read the question ;-) https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/31655/7982 I think it's fine for you to leave this one here. Thanks! – uhoh Apr 28 '19 at 01:45
  • Updated answer, having reached out to Space-Track.org – Andre M Apr 29 '19 at 20:31
  • That's great news, thanks! What I'm looking for is "a database for space junk beyond Earth orbit..." Do you know how to generate the table for all objects beyond Earth orbit? The first link shows the entire satcat, the second link only Roadster. – uhoh Apr 30 '19 at 00:07
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    @uhoh Space-Track may have satcat entries for those objects, but once they are beyond earth orbit like Pioneer 11 it doesn't have TLEs. – Revent May 01 '19 at 23:08
  • @Revent you are absolutely right, thanks! So while the satcat might (or might not) be considered a minimal cataloguing of space junk beyond Earth orbit, it certainly doesn't tell us much about where to start looking for it. Your point is also covered in answers to Has a TLE ever been issued for a spacecraft trajectory not bound to Earth orbit? – uhoh May 01 '19 at 23:48
  • @Revent Also, while answers to Where might astrometric observations of the Roadster spacecraft be catalogued? mention the "Distant Artificial Satellites Observation" or DASO Circulars, they only catalogue observations that people choose to report. – uhoh May 01 '19 at 23:50
  • BTW there is a 'space-track' tag on this Stack Exchange for asking 'Space Track' related questions - I did them know about this, so hopefully they'll help out with further Q&A. See: https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/space-track – Andre M May 08 '19 at 14:25
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Nasa horizons has a database of objects in the solar system, both natural and man-made.

If you go to https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi and go into the change target body section there is an option to choose from a list of spacecraft. I don't know how complete said list is and there doesn't seem to be an option to filter by whether the spacecraft is active and whether it is in heliocentric orbit.

Peter Green
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The best source is Jonathan's Deep Space Catalog. It include pretty much everything that has left orbit of the Earth. And it does include Elon's Tesla Roadster, among other things.

D00993 Elon's Tesla Roadster...  Attached to D00992 Falcon Heavy-001 Stage...
uhoh
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PearsonArtPhoto
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  • Excellent, thanks! I've never gone through McDowell's site except in passing, never new this kind of stuff was there. I may ask some questions about it but the problem is that the explanations there are so good it may be hard to find something unexplained ;-) – uhoh Nov 25 '20 at 20:57