Danger from space debris
Metal ring from space hits Kenya
02/01/2025 – 11:04 amReading time: 2 min.
A metal piece weighing 500 kilograms fell to earth from space in Kenya. Although no one was injured, the case highlights a growing danger.
Excitement in a village in Kenya: A metal ring weighing half a ton that appears to have come from space has crashed into the town of Mukuku in the south of the country. The Kenyan space agency KSA said it was probably part of a space rocket.
The metal ring has a diameter of around two and a half meters and weighs 500 kilograms. According to information, the metal part fell into the village on Monday. The rubble has been recovered and is now being examined.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that the fallen object was a separator ring from a launch vehicle,” the agency said.
This should actually have burned up when re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere or fallen into uninhabited areas. “This is an isolated case,” emphasized the space agency. The property does not pose a threat to public safety.
The case shows that the danger from falling space debris continues to increase. In March last year, a metal trestle from space pierced a residential building in the USA. It was part of a discarded battery pack from the ISS space station, as NASA announced.
A pallet of old ISS batteries also flew over Germany during its re-entry. Several organizations, including the Federal Ministry of Economics, which is responsible for space travel, and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), had informed about the battery pack – and spoke of a low risk for Germany.
As the ESA announced, no one has yet been killed by falling space debris. The risk of being injured by such a part is less than 1 in 100 billion. Because most of the earth is covered by oceans, most objects from space end up in water, the DLR says on its website.