A significant piece of what is likely space debris was discovered on a remote road in Western Australia, as reported by the Australian Space Agency. The exact origin of this debris remains uncertain, but it appears to be part of a discarded rocket.
The agency stated, “The debris is likely a propellant tank or pressure vessel from a space launch vehicle.” According to reports from Sky News, the charred remnants were located by mine workers, with some components still smoldering, as indicated by photographs released by the Western Australia Police Force. While the size and weight of the debris have not been disclosed, police assessments indicate that it is composed of carbon fiber, resembling known space debris like composite-overwrapped pressure vessels or rocket tanks.
Experts believe this debris may have originated from the upper stage of a Chinese Jielong rocket. “The last launch was late September, so this has been barreling around the Earth and quite suddenly has got pulled back to the atmosphere,” stated Alice Gorman, a space archaeologist from Flinders University, during an interview with ABC Radio Perth. Gorman noted that similar debris was reported in Argentina a month prior, suggesting a pattern linked to the Jielong rocket”s trajectory, which covers Australia.
This incident underscores a growing issue within an increasingly active space industry: pollution. The frequency of rocket launches is on the rise, and companies like Elon Musk”s SpaceX have deployed thousands of Starlink satellites into orbit. There are so many expendable satellites in orbit that at least one piece of debris is now falling to Earth daily.
Though large fragments of space debris landing on Earth is uncommon—most are designed to burn up upon re-entry—recent occurrences have raised alarms among experts. They worry that the potential hazards posed by these objects are being underestimated.
Last year, a piece of debris from the International Space Station crashed through a family”s home in Florida. This 1.6-pound metal fragment originated from a cargo pellet of discarded batteries jettisoned by the ISS three years earlier. Additionally, a nearly one-hundred-pound section of a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule fell onto a Canadian farm, marking yet another instance where spacecraft debris has intruded upon domestic life. Two years before that, a ten-foot piece from the trunk section of a Dragon capsule struck a sheep farm in Australia.
Understanding how these objects survive their re-entry remains a challenge. Modern spacecraft are constructed from lighter composite materials compared to the metals used during the Space Age, but their performance during atmospheric re-entry has not been thoroughly studied.
