10-Foot Slab of Space Junk Believed From a SpaceX Flight Crashed in Australia; Should Humans Worry About Falling Debris?

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that Australian farmers found space junk scattered across the fields in Dalgety, New South Wales, last month. There were three pieces of debris; the largest one was a 10-foot triangular structure firmly planted into the ground.

Astrophysicist Brad Tucker examined the space junk and thinks that these are some pieces of debris from a SpaceX flight that landed in rural Australia. Due to this, many wondered if humans should be worried about space debris that might fall on Earth unexpectedly.

Space Junk Suspected From SpaceX's Crew-1 Mission

On July 9, a chunk of charred material reportedly reentered the atmosphere and landed in the middle of a sheep paddock near Dalgety, followed by a loud bang that witnesses heard. Sheep farmer Mick Miners discovered the 10-foot-tall object in his field on July 25, while his neighbor Jock Wallace also found some debris in his field a week before, ABC reported.

Wallace immediately reported the sighting to the local civil aviation safety authority, who told him to call NASA. He told the news outlet that he is somewhat unsure what to say to NASA, given that he is a farmer and not an expert on such things.

The Australian Space Agency and New South Wales police are now investigating the objects to confirm where they came from. The debris is severely scarred by scorch marks consistent with reentry into the atmosphere.

SpaceX has not yet confirmed that the piece was part of the Crew-1 Dragon spacecraft that splashed down on May 2, 2021. However, Jonathan McDowell said on Twitter on Friday that Dalgety was underneath the projected reentry pathway of the unpressurized trunk of the Dragon spacecraft that jettisoned before reentering Earth.

Tucker told Space.com that he truly believed that the slab of metals was space junk given its charred appearance, potential evidence that it reentered Earth's atmosphere. McDowell added that the photos show the debris from the trunk fins that sit on the circumference of the rocket to assist with aerodynamics during a launch.

Should Humans Worry About Falling Space Debris?

Experts are tracking the large pieces of space debris from Earth to predict where they will land even though the risk of them falling on a human is minuscule, Business Insider reported. However, scientists have also sounded the alarm on space debris that might only get worse as humans aim to intensify space travel.

Recently, Science Times reported that some debris from a Chinese Long March 5B rocket came back to Earth uncontrolled. The debris landed on water and deserts, so there was a slim chance of falling in inhabited areas. China Manned Space Agency said most debris burned upon reentry.

However, NASA is still critical of the approach since it carries a significant amount of risk that it may fall on inhabited areas and cost human life or damage properties. That was the second time China let the debris off their rocket fall back to Earth uncontrolled.

Check out more news and information on Space Junk in Science Times.