On December 30, at around 3:00 pm local time (1200 GMT), a mysterious piece of metal crashed into a village in Kenya, sparking curiosity among locals. The incident also raised security concerns in the south of the country. Kenya Space Agency (KSA) officials and local authorities have cordoned off the crash site and experts have examined the object that fell from the sky, the news agency reported. Agence France-Presse (AFP).
About the metal ring that fell from the sky
The metal ring had a diameter of about 2.5 meters (8 ft) and weighed about 500 kilograms. It is believed that the ring separated from the rocket a few minutes after launch.
The metal ring was reported to have crashed in Mukuku village in Makueni County, southern Kenya AFP,
According to video shared by BBC News Africa, experts in KSA are investigating the impact of the fallen metal ring on the area. The exact origin of the metal piece is also being investigated.
Investigation continues to trace the origin of the metal object
Kenyan authorities said Wednesday they were investigating metal fragments believed to be fragments of a rocket that crashed in a village in the south of the country.
KSA, working with other agencies and local authorities, “secured the area and recovered the debris, which is now in the agency’s custody for further investigation.”
Alarming increase in space debris
The incident has raised new concerns about the increasing amount of space debris with multiple rocket and satellite launches.
“Preliminary assessments indicate that the fallen object is a separation ring from a launch vehicle,” which is designed to either burn up upon re-entering Earth’s atmosphere or fall into uninhabited areas, the KSA said. .
“This is an isolated matter which the agency will investigate and resolve,” KSA said in a statement. KSA said the object was not a threat to public safety and praised the quick action of local residents in notifying authorities after the accident. KSA said they were working to identify the origin of the piece.
Previous examples of space debris hitting Earth
This is not the first time that a separated part of a spacecraft has hit the Earth’s surface. Earlier, a part of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule owned by Elon Musk had similarly fallen on the Earth’s surface. The piece lands on an Australian sheep farm in 2022. Earlier this year, NASA faced a lawsuit from an American family whose Florida home was damaged by falling metal fragments.
