Space Debris: Rocket Remnant Found Burning on Road in Australia
In western Australia, a remnant of a Chinese rocket has apparently crashed; it was still burning when found. Investigations are ongoing.
The police illustrate the find with an atmospheric video.
(Image: Western Australia Police Force)
In the largely uninhabited west of Australia, a fragment of a rocket has apparently crashed and was discovered near a mine. This is evident from a statement by the Western Australia Police Force, according to which the object does not originate from an aircraft. However, investigations are ongoing, and Australia's space agency is to assist in determining the exact origin. The police are therefore working with the operator of the mine near the small town of Newman; the object has been secured and poses no danger. When discovered on Saturday, it was burning on a remote road.
Remnant of a Chinese Rocket
As the police authority explains on Facebook, according to initial analyses, the object is made of carbon fiber. It is possibly a pressure vessel or tank of a rocket enclosed in composite material. Dutch satellite expert Marco Langbroek agrees with this based on the shared information, and he has also found the probable source. In a blog post, he explains that it is likely a piece of the upper stage of a Chinese rocket that crashed over the area at precisely the right time. According to his calculations, the object must have had a mass of 300 kilograms upon entry. However, there is no confirmation of his statements yet.
Videos by heise
Space debris that has survived the fall through the atmosphere and landed on the Earth's surface is found repeatedly in Australia. Due to the increasing number of rocket launches, the number of dangerous objects in space is growing, as a recently published analysis also shows. In it, the 50 most dangerous objects were compiled. However, it also stated that since the beginning of 2024 alone, 26 rocket stages have been added to space debris in low Earth orbit, where they will remain for 25 years. The greatest danger they pose is therefore to other satellites; if they do fall, they mostly land in an ocean or in an uninhabited area like Australia.
(mho)
