Half a ton of space debris fell on a village in Kenya
Kyiv • UNN
A metal hoop with a diameter of 2.4 meters fell from a rocket upper stage in a Kenyan village. Local residents are demanding compensation for damaged trees and bushes, and experts warn of a growing problem of space debris.
A metal hoop over 2.4 meters in diameter and weighing more than 500 kilograms fell from the sky in a Kenyan village. The Kenyan Space Agency confirmed that the object is part of a rocket upper stage designed to separate during launch. This was reported by The New York Times , UNN reported.
Details
It is noted that the metal hoop, which glowed red when it fell, fell into the thicket, destroying trees and bushes.
Local residents were frightened, suspecting it was a bomb. The object was seized for further investigation. Now they insist on compensation for damages.
"We want the owner of this facility to be held accountable," said local resident Paul Musili.
"If this object had fallen on a residential building, the consequences could have been catastrophic," said another local resident, Joseph Mutua.
Meanwhile, experts warn that even small debris in orbit can lead to a cascading effect known as Kessler syndrome, where debris in space collides with each other, creating even more debris. This threatens all infrastructure in Earth's orbit.
According to the European Space Agency, there are currently more than 14 thousand tons of materials in Earth orbit, of which one third is debris. With the number of spacecraft launches exceeding 100 every year, more and more debris is not burning up in the atmosphere and falling to Earth.
Chinese astronauts set a new record for staying in outer spaceDec 19 2024, 12:27 PM • 14950 views
