A chunk of mysterious space debris has captured attention in Australia.
On October 18, mine workers near Newman, Western Australia, stumbled upon a smoking piece of debris along a remote road. The Western Australia Police and the Australian Space Agency quickly investigated, noting the unusual find and stating they would examine it to identify where it came from.
Initial observations suggest the debris is made of carbon fiber, possibly part of a rocket. Marco Langbroek, a space analyst and professor at Delft University of Technology, mentioned that it looks like a composite overwrapped pressure vessel (COPV), used for holding high-pressure gases in rockets. He noted that this debris was burning upon discovery, which is unusual for space junk, hinting at a very recent impact.
Langbroek believes it might be from the upper stage of a Chinese rocket called Jielong 3, which re-entered Earth’s atmosphere the same day. He pointed out that only a few space objects matched the trajectory of the debris that morning, making this rocket a strong candidate.
Interestingly, space debris is becoming an ever-growing concern. According to the European Space Agency, there are tens of thousands of pieces of space junk orbiting Earth, with more than 36,000 items larger than 10 cm. This debris poses a risk not only to satellites and space stations but also to future space missions.
The find in Australia highlights the critical need for tracking and understanding space debris better. As Langbroek said, while we know some about the Jielong 3, details on its components remain sparse. This incident serves as a reminder of how interconnected our activities in space and on Earth truly are.
For further reading on space debris and what’s being done about it, consider checking the European Space Agency’s Space Debris page.
