Space debris weighing more than 1,000 pounds has reportedly crashed into a village in Kenya

Kenyan officials said Wednesday they were investigating metal fragments believed to have been caused by a missile that fell on a village in the country’s south.

The issue of space waste has emerged in conjunction with the increase in spatial traffic.

The Kenya Space Agency (Saudi Arabia) said. The object, a metal ring about 8 feet in diameter and weighing about 1,100 pounds, crashed in Mukoko village, in Makueni District, on December 30 around 3:00 p.m. local time (1200 GMT).

Saudi Arabia, in cooperation with other agencies and local authorities, secured the area and recovered the rubble, which is now in the agency’s custody for further investigation.

She said, “Initial assessments indicate that the falling object is a separation ring from the launch vehicle,” and is designed to either burn up upon re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere or fall over uninhabited areas.

Saudi Arabia said in a statement: “This is an isolated case, and the agency will investigate and address it.”

She said the object did not pose a threat to public safety, and praised nearby villagers who quickly notified authorities.

Saudi Arabia said it was working to determine the origin of the piece.

Previous examples of human space debris hitting Earth include part of a SpaceX Dragon capsule landing on a spacecraft Australian sheep farm In 2022.

Earlier this year, NASA faced a lawsuit From an American family whose house in Florida was exposed to a piece of metal falling. Cylindrical object It tore the house apart Alejandro Otero in Naples on March 8. He told CBS Fort Myers, Fla., affiliate WINK-TV that his son called him about the crashed object while he was on vacation.

“I was shaking, I was in complete disbelief,” Otero said. “What are the odds of something falling on my house that hard to cause all that damage?” “I’m very thankful that no one was hurt.”

NASA also criticized China for allowing its giant Long March rocket to fall back to Earth after orbit.

Last February, the European Space Agency said that a satellite – weighing as much as an adult male rhino – had created a rocket. Uncontrolled return to the groundIt returns to the atmosphere over the North Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Hawaii.