SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft Junk Crashes on Australian Sheep Farm

SpaceX Dragon rocket debris was discovered in an Australian sheep farm a few days before bits of what was thought to be a Chinese rocket fell on Earth.

The Snowy Mountains in southern New South Wales heard a blast on July 9. ABC South-East NSW wrote that people in Albury, Wagga Wagga, and Canberra could hear it for miles.

Spacecraft fragments regularly break from the main cargo during rocket launches and crash back to Earth. Most of these particles burn up as they enter the planet's atmosphere.

Larger pieces that pass through the atmosphere are more likely to settle in the ocean, which covers two-thirds of the Earth's surface. But occasionally, they do succeed in landing on the ground.

Charred SpaceX Dragon Rocket Debris Found in Australian Sheep Farm

Sheep farmer Mick Miners discovered a peculiar, charred substance on July 25. Miners confessed that he was clueless as to what to believe or what it was.

According to Newsweek, a 10-foot-long chunk of burned metal was found embedded in the dirt in a secluded corner of Miners' sheep pasture.

The debris fallout did not just damage the miners. His neighbor, Jock Wallace, also found some strange rubbish close.

(Photo : Wikimedia Commons)
This artist's concept shows a SpaceX Crew Dragon docking with the International Space Station as it will during a mission for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. NASA is partnering with Boeing and SpaceX to build a new generation of human-rated spacecraft capable of taking astronauts to the station and expanding research opportunities in orbit.

Wallace insisted that he was not aware of the boom, even though his children said it was quite loud. He is troubled by the fact that the debris has just fallen from the sky. He expressed significant concern that if the rubble landed on the house, it would cause a huge disaster.

Authorities took note of the serial numbers on the scorched pieces of the space rocket.

Astrophysicist Brad Tucker from the College of Science at the Australian National University wrote on Twitter that the fragments that "crashed into a few paddocks" near Dalgety may be from the Crew-1 Trunk spacecraft from SpaceX that was launched in November 2020.

There are currently no updates about any injuries, either to sheep or locals, that may have resulted from SpaceX Dragon debris.

ALSO READ: China Responds to US Concerns About Tiangong Space Station Rocket Debris Uncontrollable Reentry Into Earth

Alleged SpaceX Dragon Rocket Debris Smaller Than Chinese March 5B Spacecraft

SpaceX has not yet confirmed if the object was a component of SpaceX's Crew-1 Dragon spacecraft, which safely splashed down on May 2, 2021, Space.com reported.

 However, veteran space debris tracker Jonathan McDowell revealed on Twitter last Friday (July 29) that Dalgety was beneath the planned re-entry course of an unpressurized "trunk" portion of Dragon that was expelled before re-entry.

McDowell noted that it appears from the images that the debris originated from a trunk fin. These fins are located around the rocket's perimeter and help with aerodynamics during the mission's launch.

The probable SpaceX debris is on a far smaller scale than the Chinese Long March 5B core stage, which is anticipated to return to Earth this weekend at around 30 meters (almost 100 feet). In any event, there is a negligibly small chance that any space debris would cause harm to anyone on Earth.

Space Junk Explained

Republic World explained that space junk - sometimes called space rubbish, space pollution, or space waste - is typically composed of abandoned or damaged rocket or spacecraft parts. However, natural materials like fragmented meteoroids or other celestial things are another possibility.

It's vital to note that once a rocket ascends, its components split apart to lessen the payload and the destroyed bits accelerate back toward Earth. As a result of friction with Earth's atmosphere. However, they often settle in water rather than on land.

RELATED ARTICLE: Debris From China's Tiangong Space Station Rocket Predicted to Fall Back to Earth on July 31, Experts Say

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