Usually burns upon re-entry into the atmosphere.
Designed to be dropped in sparsely populated areas
(Seoul = Newsis) 500 kg of space junk discovered in Mukuku Village, Makueni County, Kenya, on December 30, 2024. (Photo = Capture from X’s old Twitter) *Resale and DB prohibited.
(Seoul = Newsis) Intern Reporter Hong Ju-seok = Space junk weighing nearly 500 kg fell on a village in southern Kenya, making it a hot topic.
According to the U.S. CBS News on the 1st (local time), a metal object with a diameter of about 2.5 meters and a weight of about 500 kg fell from the sky in Mukuku Village, Makueni County, Kenya, on the 30th of last month.
In the released photo, this object that looks like a tire has grooves like gears on the outer edge and traces of connections in the middle.
Earlier in the day, the Kenya Space Agency (KSA) issued a statement saying that the object was believed to be a ring separated from a space rocket launch vehicle.
KSA said, “Usually they are designed to burn upon re-entry into the atmosphere or to fall in an uninhabited place. This is an independent case, and our organization (KSA) is using the framework established in accordance with international space law to solve the problem.” “It is a problem to investigate and solve using a structure to solve problems.”
They also said, “We have recovered the fallen debris and are conducting further investigation,” and added, “This object does not pose a threat to public safety.”
The media said, “With the increase in space flights, the space debris problem is becoming more serious.”
Meanwhile, in 2022, part of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule fell on a farm in New South Wales, Australia.
Also, in March of last year, a piece of space debris crashed into a house in Florida, and the homeowner filed a lawsuit against the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for damages.
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Source: www.newsis.com
