# Anyone recognize this probable aerospace debris? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2024, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055 "2024-05-25T13:22:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/1 "2024-05-25T13:22:25Z")
> **[Man astonished by finding mysterious object along NC mountain trail](https://www.wral.com/amp/21449138/)** > > Finding something this rare along a very remote trail in Canton, North Carolina, is almost unheard of. But Justin Clontz and a co-worker couldn't believe what they were seeing. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/2 "2024-05-25T13:40:25Z")
This might help a little: [![](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/themountaineer.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/21/e21b713c-19f4-11ef-a843-3bd1bbd316e4/6650d156c3347.image.jpg?crop=1552%2C1164%2C0%2C85&resize=750%2C563&order=crop%2Cresize) ](https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/themountaineer.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/21/e21b713c-19f4-11ef-a843-3bd1bbd316e4/6650d156c3347.image.jpg?crop=1552%2C1164%2C0%2C85&resize=750%2C563&order=crop%2Cresize) From here: [https://www.themountaineer.com/](https://www.themountaineer.com/) ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/3 "2024-05-25T13:45:00Z")
Looks like one of these: > **[Chunk of space debris lands in Sask. farm field | CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/space-debris-farm-field-1.7204312)** > > As a farmer in rural Saskatchewan, Barry Sawchuk is used to removing rocks and weeds from his fields. But he recently discovered a two-metre wide, 40-kilogram heap of twisted, burnt metal. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/4 "2024-05-25T13:57:15Z")
Answering my own question, likely part of a SpaceX Dragon. > **[A Mysterious Object Discovered in the North Carolina Mountains Likely Fell...](https://thedebrief.org/a-mysterious-object-discovered-in-the-north-carolina-mountains-likely-fell-from-space-heres-what-we-think-it-is/)** > > A strange-looking object recently discovered in the mountains of North Carolina is believed to be space debris that fell to Earth this week. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/5 "2024-05-31T00:54:26Z")
The trunk, specifically. That’s a cylindrical piece that is attached behind the capsule portion and carries extra cargo. You can sorta see how it matches up here: [![](https://www.aero-news.net/images/content/aerospace/2020/SpaceX-Trunk-Recovered-0120a.jpg) ](https://www.aero-news.net/images/content/aerospace/2020/SpaceX-Trunk-Recovered-0120a.jpg) The trunk is made of carbon fiber and is ejected before the deorbit burn. Which means it stays in orbit until the atmosphere brings it down, which will be in a random place. Usually over the ocean just due to probability, but sometimes land. The only other carbon fiber piece that I know of that sometimes survives reentry are the carbon overwrapped pressure vessels–basically carbon fiber bottles. They mostly land still looking like a bottle. So that’s not what they have here. SpaceX could possibly perform a burn that would ensure the trunk would reenter over the ocean, though I don’t know if they have enough propellant for that. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/6 "2024-05-31T04:03:46Z")
Clearly alien chest plate armor. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/7 "2024-05-31T16:46:57Z")
You mean somebody wants to _keep_ the alien inside their chest? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/8 "2024-12-31T18:26:33Z")
New debris in Kenya. A big ring. > **[Msishtuke: Kenya Space Agency assures villagers as sky object falls in Makueni](https://www.tuko.co.ke/people/573910-kenya-space-agency-arrives-village-large-object-fell-sky-what-is/)** > > A large, partially burnt metallic object fell from the sky with a loud bang in Mukuku village, Mbooni East, Makueni County, on December 30, 2024. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/9 "2024-12-31T18:37:25Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > [Chunk of space debris lands in Sask. farm field | CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/space-debris-farm-field-1.7204312) 88 pounds? Wonder how fast it was going when it hit. Something like that could really mess up your day! ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/10 "2024-12-31T21:11:19Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > New debris in Kenya. A big ring. The gods must be angry !! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/11 "2024-12-31T21:15:15Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > The gods must be angry I would be too if I lost my cock ring. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/12 "2024-12-31T21:16:03Z")
Looks like the paw of Mecha King Kong. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2024, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/13 "2024-12-31T21:25:03Z")
TIL that Kenya _has_ a Space Agency. Who knew? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/14 "2025-01-01T02:52:44Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Who knew? Jazz Bashara, for one. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/15 "2025-01-01T03:08:59Z")
> [@](#): > > "The locals should not be scared. It is a rocket in the form of a metallic ring from a rocket-separation stage. Yeah, surre. Anyone who’s seen 1950s outer space movies knows this is the kind of misleading announcement officials make, right before giant wooly three-headed centipedes overrun the village. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/16 "2025-01-03T16:28:29Z")
When I saw “KSA” in the article, for a moment I thought it referred to “Kitten Space Agency,” the hopeful successor to KSP. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/17 "2025-01-03T22:18:31Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > TIL that Kenya _has_ a Space Agency. Who knew? Kenya is on the equator, right? [A cursory lookup— I mean Wikipedia— says that the Broglio Space Center is now de-mothballed for upcoming launches, for example.] Also, a viable space program does not require quadrillions of dollars, or whatever else is implied here. You and a couple of your friends could start your own space program: it is really not all that expensive to launch, e.g., a 3U cubesat. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/18 "2025-02-19T20:15:28Z")
SpaceX continues to be a litterbug. > **[SpaceX rocket debris crashes into Poland](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62z3vxjplpo)** > > Debris from a Space X Falcon 9 rocket lit up skies across Europe before crashing into Poland. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2025, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-recognize-this-probable-aerospace-debris/1002055/19 "2025-02-19T21:53:12Z")
Yeah, unfortunately there have been a few upper stage failures recently that resulted in an uncontrolled deorbit. Usually these are intended to reenter over the ocean, but without the deorbit burn it comes down in an effectively random spot, which might be over land. The SpaceX failure rate is still quite low, but their launch rate is so high that the total amount ends up being non-negligible. Well, hopefully SpaceX will pay for the guy’s damaged light fixture. I haven’t heard any reason yet for the failure in this case. The FAA stated that it wouldn’t result in an investigation, presumably because even an uncontrolled reentry has small odds of causing injury, which is mostly what they’re focused on. Still, it would be nice to have an answer.