By Denise Chow – NBCNews
A large piece of space debris discovered last month on a mountain trail in North Carolina came from a SpaceX capsule that had traveled to the International Space Station, NASA confirmed.
The piece was found in late May by an employee of The Glamping Collective, a luxury resort located on a mountaintop in Haywood County, near Asheville.
“It looked evil,” said Justin Clontz, who performs ground maintenance for the bus and found the piece.
NASA has claimed that the roughly 3-foot piece came from the “trunk,” or service module, of a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that brought four astronauts home to Earth from the International Space Station on March 12.
The approximately 40.8 kg (90 lb) piece is covered in carbon fiber fabric.
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The trunk sits at the base of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, beneath where astronauts sit, and is typically used to carry cargo. It is covered in solar panels that provide power “during flight and while on station,” according to SpaceX’s website.
That section of the vehicle breaks off shortly before the capsule re-enters Earth’s atmosphere. NASA said the log was expected to burn up completely 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 respond to a request for comment.
The piece that Clontz found It was charred and covered in carbon fiber fabricIt weighs about 90 pounds (40.8 kg) – too cumbersome and large for one person to carry – and he said he was initially unsure whether it was safe to touch.
“It’s something you don’t normally see,” Clontz said. “I’ve seen spaceships and things like that on television, but the average person doesn’t get to see them up close.”
Some smaller remains were also found in the yards of two residents of nearby towns, according to local news.
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 then returned after a six-month expedition on the space station.
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According to NASA, a piece of a suspected debris log from another SpaceX mission was found in a farmer’s field in Saskatchewan, Canada, last month.
An uncrewed SpaceX mission to deliver supplies to the space station also caused debris to fall on Saudi Arabia, according to the agency.
NASA via AP
The remains of a Crew Dragon trunk They landed in Colorado last year, and a similar incident occurred in 2022 in Australia, NASA said.
A 1.6-pound (0.72 kg) chunk of metal space debris — though not from a SpaceX vehicle — smashed a home in Naples, Florida, in March. It came from a cargo pallet that had been intentionally released from the International Space Station.
The family that owns the home has sued NASA for the damages and alleges that the incident also caused them emotional stress.
In response to questions about that lawsuit, Jimi Russell, a NASA space operations public affairs officer, said in an email that “it would not be appropriate for NASA to comment on a pending lawsuit.”
It is common for space agencies and companies to let equipment that is no longer in service burn up in the atmosphere, but occasionally some pieces survive reentry. Although It is rare for space debris to fall on populated areasGiven that most of the planet is covered by oceans, recent events raise questions about whether that risk may increase as launches into space become more frequent.
NASA said if people find anything they suspect is SpaceX debris, they can contact the company’s debris hotline (1-866-623-0234 or [email protected]).
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A Crew Dragon capsule – with its trunk section attached – is currently parked at the International Space Station. According to NASA, 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 discovered debris.”
“NASA and SpaceX remain committed to safeguard the public, astronauts and ground crew“the agency said.
Clontz said the piece of space junk is now on display at The Glamping Collective behind a display case. So far, neither SpaceX nor NASA have asked to recover it.
“Every time I look at it, I think how cool it is,” Clontz said. “To think that it launched from Florida, went into outer space and came back down, and a piece of it flew right over North Carolina is pretty incredible.”
