Kenyan authorities are looking into metal pieces that may have come from a rocket that crashed into the southern community of Mukuku.
According to the Kenya Space Agency (KSA), the object, a metallic ring about eight feet in diameter and weighing about 1,100 pounds, struck the Makueni County village on December 30 at approximately 3:00 pm local time, as reported by CBS News.
The KSA, in collaboration with other agencies and local officials, “secured the area and retrieved the debris, which is now under the Agency’s custody for further investigation.”
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They said that “preliminary assessments indicate that the fallen object is a separation ring from a launch vehicle,” which is meant to either fall over uninhabited areas or burn up upon re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere.
“This is an isolated case, which the agency will investigate and address,” the KSA added in the statement.
According to Fox Weather, a separation ring is a component of a spacecraft. As explained by NASA, “Rockets typically come in stages, each optimized for different parts of the launch. When each stage has finished its part, it drops away, allowing the smaller remainder to continue on its journey.”
The KSA declared that the item posed no risk to public safety and commended the local people for promptly informing the authorities.
According to the Agency, efforts were underway to determine the piece’s origin.
In 2022, part of a SpaceX Dragon capsule landed on an Australian sheep farm.
And recently, an American family whose Florida home was hit by a piece of falling metal sued NASA for damages.
