One of SpaceX rocket cylinders fell in Washington state – no one was hurt
A piece of SpaceX’s rocket was discovered in Washington state over the weekend, days after an impressive light show of Falcon 9 second stage debris was seen in the northwestern United States skies.
SpaceX retrieved the composite-coated high-pressure cylinder after Falcon 9 re-entered the atmosphere last week. The object was discovered this week in a private property in southwest Grant County. For the media and treasure hunters, we will not disclose details. Landowner just wants to be left alone, “ – wrote on Friday, the sheriff’s office Administrative District Grant in” Twitter. ” The height of the tank is about 1.5 meters.
According to the employee of the department of public information of the sheriff’s department Kyle Foreman (Kyle Foreman), there was no damage – the cylinder (according to him, for storing helium) only left a trail on the ground from the impact with a depth of 10-13 centimeters. SpaceX was notified on Monday and arrived on Tuesday to pick up this space debris.
Where exactly the cylinder fell is not reported, but the Tri-City Herald reported that it happened in a farmer’s field. On March 25, the skies over the states of Washington and Oregon lit up streaks. SpaceX does not appear to have publicly confirmed that it was its rocket. Some thought it was a meteorite or a comet. Still, astronomers immediately reported that we are talking about the remains of the second stage of Falcon 9, which was not regularly aimed at the descent to forcibly burn up in the atmosphere, but remained in orbit for some time, gradually decreased and entered dense layers under the influence of gravity, thereby creating a memorable show.
Mr. Foreman said there were no other reports of space debris falling into the Grant County Sheriff’s office. Falcon 9 is a partially reusable two-stage rocket. The first stage typically returns to land or a special barge, while the second stage delivers the payload to target orbits. 111 Falcon 9 launches have been made to-date, of which 71 have successfully returned to the first stage.
