Particles from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that blasted off in the USA on February 1 entered the Earth’s ambiance over Poland on Wednesday, the Polish house company stated.
A 1.5 meter by one meter (5 ft by three ft) chunk from an unidentified object was discovered close to the western metropolis of Poznan, police stated.
Police later stated a second similar-sized object had been positioned a number of hours afterwards in a forest a number of miles from the place the primary was found.
No casualties or injury have been reported.
The Polish Space Agency (POLSA) said a stage of the Falcon 9 R/B rocket made “an uncontrolled re-entry into the ambiance” at about 0346 GMT.
It stated the rocket was a part of a Area X Starlink Group launch from Vandenberg Air Power Base in California on February 1. The rocket was launched to place Starlink satellites right into a low-level orbit.
The particles left spectacular luminous trails seen within the sky in western Poland, based on witnesses who posted video online. In accordance with police, one chunk of debris was discovered within the grounds of a warehouse close to Poznan.
A police spokesman, Lukasz Paterski, stated police and firefighters have been working to search out the origin of the particles. He stated it was attainable the item got here from a SpaceX rocket.
POLSA spokeswoman Agnieszka Gapys stated the company was talking with SpaceX, which is managed by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, concerning the particles, PAP information company reported.
Polish media stated the composite materials discovered close to Poznan resembled a Falcon 9 gasoline tank.
Researchers warned in a study revealed final month stated that house particles plummeting again to Earth could possibly be a growing problem for aircraft. In late December, house particles weighing over 1,000 kilos crashed into a village in Kenya, the nation’s house company stated.
