A big piece of space debris that was discovered last month on a mountain trail in North Carolina came from a SpaceX capsule that traveled to the International Space Station, NASA confirmed.
The slab of debris was found in late May by an employee at The Glamping Collective, a luxury mountaintop resort in Haywood County near Asheville.
“It was kind of weird,” said Justin Clontz, who does ground maintenance for the collective and found the slab.
Now, NASA says, the roughly three-foot chunk came from the “trunk” or service module of a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule which carried four astronauts from the International Space Station to Earth on March 12.
The trunk is at the base of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, beneath where the astronauts sit, and is typically used to transport cargo. It’s covered in solar panels that provide power “during flight and throughout the season,” according to SpaceX website.
This section of the vehicle is discarded shortly before the capsule re-enters Earth’s atmosphere. NASA said the trunk was expected to burn up entirely in the atmosphere, but its discovery, along with several others, suggests parts of the vehicle are capable of surviving the fiery journey.
SpaceX did not immediately return a request for comment.
The piece found by Clontz was charred and covered with carbon fiber. It weighs about 100 pounds — too awkward and large for one person to carry — and he said he initially wasn’t sure if it was safe to touch.
“It’s just something you don’t normally see,” Clontz said. “I’ve seen spaceships and other things on TV, but the average person can’t see them up close.”
Some smaller pieces of debris were also found in the backyards of two residents in nearby cities, according to local reports.
In its statement, NASA said it was “not aware of any structural damage or injuries resulting from these findings.”
NASA said the debris was from SpaceX’s Crew-7 mission, which launched into space on Aug. 26, 2023, and returned after a six-month space station expedition.
Last month, a piece of suspected debris from the trunk of a separate SpaceX mission was found in a farmer’s field in Saskatchewan, Canada, according to NASA.
An uncrewed SpaceX mission to deliver supplies to the space station also resulted in debris falling over Saudi Arabia, the agency said.
Debris from a Crew Dragon trunk also landed in Colorado last year, and a similar incident occurred in 2022 in Australia, NASA said.
A 1.6-pound piece of metal space junk – although not from a SpaceX vehicle – destroyed a house in Naples, Florida, in March. It came from a cargo pallet that was intentionally released from the International Space Station.
The Florida family that owns the house is suing NASA for damagesand claiming that the incident also caused them emotional distress.
In response to questions about this process, Jimi Russell, public affairs officer for NASA space operations, said in an email that “it would not be appropriate for NASA to comment on a pending complaint.”
It is common for space agencies and companies to leave extinct hardware burns in the atmosphere, but occasionally some pieces survive re-entry. While it is rare for space debris to fall on populated areas given that most of the planet is covered by oceans, recent developments raise questions about whether this risk could increase as launches into space become more frequent.
NASA said if people find what they suspect is SpaceX debris, they can contact the company’s debris hotline (1-866-623-0234 or recovery@spacex.com).
A Crew Dragon capsule – with its trunk section attached – is currently parked on the International Space Station. NASA said the spacecraft is expected to return to Earth with its crew later this summer.
The agency said it plans to work with SpaceX to explore “additional solutions as we learn from the debris discovered.”
“NASA and SpaceX remain committed to protecting the public, astronauts and ground crews,” the agency said.
Clontz said the piece of space junk is now on display at The Glamping Collective, behind a glass case. So far, neither SpaceX nor NASA has asked to recover it, he said.
“Every time I look at it, I think how cool it is,” Clontz said. “To think that it launched from Florida, went to outer space and came back and a piece of it flew over North Carolina is pretty cool.”
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
