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Space

Fallen Debris from SpaceX Satellite Launch Crashes on a Farm (space.com) 95

Posted by EditorDavid from the sky-is-falling dept.
180 miles east of Seattle, "A pressure vessel from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage fell on a man's farm in Washington State last week," reports the Verge, "leaving a '4-inch dent in the soil,' the local sheriff's office said Friday."

Space.com reports: Although Falcon 9 rocket successfully delivered 60 Starlink satellites to orbit last month, the rocket's second stage didn't deorbit properly after completing the mission. The second stage is the smaller, upper part of the Falcon 9 rocket that separates from the main booster to take satellites to their intended orbit. While the main booster returns to Earth for a landing (so SpaceX can refurbish and reuse it on future launches), once the second stage has completed its role in the mission, it is either intentionally destroyed or left to linger in orbit.

Typically it conducts a "deorbit burn" that sends the craft on a safe trajectory to burn up in the atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean. But this time, something went wrong: According to Ars Technica, "there was not enough propellant after this launch to ignite the Merlin engine and complete the burn. So the propellant was vented into space, and the second stage was set to make a more uncontrolled re-entry into the atmosphere." So, instead of burning up over the ocean, the rocket stage ended up breaking up in the sky over the Pacific Northwest — the fiery display visible not only from Washington but also from surrounding states and parts of Canada — just after 9 p.m. local time on Thursday, March 25, or midnight EDT (0400 GMT) on Friday, March 26.
Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, calls it "a bit of a puzzle" that the stage wasn't de-orbited under control back on March 4, telling the Verge that it "looks like something went wrong, but SpaceX has said nothing about it. However, reentries of this kind happen every couple of weeks. It's just unusual that it happens over a densely populated area, just because that's a small fraction of the Earth."
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Fallen Debris from SpaceX Satellite Launch Crashes on a Farm More

Fallen Debris from SpaceX Satellite Launch Crashes on a Farm

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  • 'Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, calls it "a bit of a puzzle" that the stage wasn't de-orbited under control back on March 4, telling the Verge that it "looks like something went wrong, but SpaceX has said nothing about it. However, reentries of this kind happen every couple of weeks. It's just unusual that it happens over a densely populated area, just because that's a small fraction of the Earth."'

    Two possibilities, either of which I can see being t

    • Re:"SpaceX has said nothing" (Score:5, Informative)

      by NateFromMich ( 6359610 ) on Saturday April 03, 2021 @10:03PM (#61234340)

      Since Musk seems to cultivate a "cult of personality"

      Absolutely true

      He can't admit to failures, no matter how minor.

      Absolutely bullshit.
      https://www.republicworld.com/... [republicworld.com]

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Ol Olsoc ( 1175323 )

        Since Musk seems to cultivate a "cult of personality"

        Absolutely true

        He can't admit to failures, no matter how minor.

        Absolutely bullshit.

        It's his cult that can't admit to anything wrong.

        I read many comments demanding NASA and Boeing be dismantled after the shortened SLS core stage hot fire a couple monthes back, while saying that Spacex's recent regression and showering the launch area with debris was no problem because "we got good data" and other similar comments.

        Now I do believe that Musk was being irresponsible when he demanded that FAA get out of the way - "Unlike its aircraft division, which is fine, the FAA space division has a

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by sjames ( 1099 )

          I don't think the explosion of a new test vehicle in a safe area is time to push the panic button yet. If one explodes over a populated area, we can push the panic button.

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by Luckyo ( 1726890 )

            While a lot of technology regulations are written in blood, many of them aren't. Because we don't have to wait for specific applications of technology to kill a lot of people before we regulate them, if we know from relevant studies and experiments that they have such destructive potential.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by sjames ( 1099 )

              I don't see any evidence of SpaceX trying to do anything that's going to kill people. They're testing in the middle of a big empty for good reason. They have not proposed moving their test launches to a populated area.

          • I don't think the explosion of a new test vehicle in a safe area is time to push the panic button yet. If one explodes over a populated area, we can push the panic button.

            This is kinda like thinking that we should have our brakes checked after we drive off the cliff.

            But here's the issue about that. Spacex is encountering launch fever.

            They have a problem in the fuel +oxidant tanks. They've been trying to overcome it with pressurized helium, which isn't going to work. Video of the failed Starship 10 issue shows one of the engines wasn't working on the landing.Which resulted in a hard landing, a bounce and a bent leg. It probably got a dose of helium - note there seemed to

            • Re: (Score:1)

              by sjames ( 1099 )

              As long as they do it in an unpopulated area, it's their money.

              • As long as they do it in an unpopulated area, it's their money.

                Port Isabel and South Padre Island are around 5 miles away. So I guess for some definitions, they aren't unpopulated areas.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          It's the same with Tesla. Waymo demonstrates a safe, reliable self driving car and Tesla fans say it will never scale, the hardware is too expensive and it can never go beyond Portland. Meanwhile even after 5 years of missed deadlines Tesla is right on the cusp of releasing a software update that enables full self driving robotaxis, although any failures of the autopilot system are down to the user.

          The cult is very real and far, far worse than the Apple one ever was.

          • It's the same with Tesla. Waymo demonstrates a safe, reliable self driving car and Tesla fans say it will never scale, the hardware is too expensive and it can never go beyond Portland. Meanwhile even after 5 years of missed deadlines Tesla is right on the cusp of releasing a software update that enables full self driving robotaxis, although any failures of the autopilot system are down to the user.

            The cult is very real and far, far worse than the Apple one ever was.

            I had stood up for Tesla for years, for technical reasons, while the cult was developing. Now, I kinda feel dirty about it.

            And I still believe that support of EV's and even experimental rocketry is good.

            But the cult that has developed is seriously toxic. I suspect that it has also affected Musk as well. It is hard to endure people worshipping you and telling you that even your failures are somehow successes, and like some in here have claimed that uninvolved people's deaths are just the price they n

    • I am surprised the Muskrats haven't started attacking the farmer on social media.

    • He can't admit to failures, no matter how minor.

      That's by the far the dumbest thing I've seen you type in twenty years; starting to lose your edge??

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by BigFire ( 13822 )

      For that particular flight, 2nd stage don't have enough propellent to do a deorbit burn. So they have to let gravity to do that for them. Had they do a control burn, they'd be aiming for Point Nemo in South Pacific.

  • Maritime law? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    If I was the farmer, I would assert maritime law applies, and that I now own the rights to the salvaged "shipwreck", and if SpaceX wants the pieces back they are going to have to pay a pretty penny. If nothing else, it would be an amusing case to take through the court system.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by crow ( 16139 )

      It's junk. SpaceX doesn't have any use for it. Neither does the farmer. SpaceX can dispose of it properly. Or the farmer could put it on display, perhaps at his booth at local farmer's markets. SpaceX is just glad this hit the ground and not a building or person.

      • Re:Maritime law? (Score:4, Insightful)

        by schwit1 ( 797399 ) on Saturday April 03, 2021 @10:31PM (#61234390)

        Junk? Put it on EBAY and someone will pay big $$ for a piece of space history. That's if some government bureaucrat doesn't try to steal it first.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        It's junk. SpaceX doesn't have any use for it. Neither does the farmer..

        Ignoring the ITAR rules, are you sure ESA or Roscosmos might not be interested? Worst case, auction it off on eBay. Someone will pay an outrageous amount to own a piece of legitimate space junk.

    • Because of the sensitive nature of rocket hardware, special laws were passed, stating that the remains of space equipment always remains the property, and responsibility, of the country and corporation that launched them.

      So, in this case, SpaceX was required by law to clean up the remains of the spacecraft, if that was necessary.

      As to a legal case - no, it would not be interesting. The law on bits of spacecraft are unambiguous.

    • According to the Outer Space Treaty, the country of origin of any space vehicle is responsible for it and has ownership of it and is liable for for any damage caused by a spacecraft.

      Of course, since its a United States launch that landed in the United States, they would probably pass the cost on to SpaceX and their insurance.

    • now own the rights to the salvaged "shipwreck"

      He doesn't need to keep the wreck.

      He can just take a photo and sell it as an NFT.

  • It was a spectacular sight (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Nkwe ( 604125 ) on Saturday April 03, 2021 @09:56PM (#61234318)
    I happened to be buying propane in a suburb west of Portland, OR standing outside my car looking at the sky when it happened. Unlike a meteor that crosses the sky in an instant, the yellowish glowing debris was visible for at least 30 seconds. It was visible long enough for me to tell the attendant, "Look, Look!" and for him to watch it for several seconds. One of the cooler things that I have seen in my life.

    • Re:It was a spectacular sight (Score:4, Funny)

      by K. S. Kyosuke ( 729550 ) on Saturday April 03, 2021 @10:36PM (#61234402)

      One of the cooler things that I have seen in my life

      If thousands of kelvins are cool to you, I wonder what's hot. ;)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Toshito ( 452851 )

      I happened to be buying propane in a suburb west of Portland, OR standing outside my car looking at the sky

      Am I the only one who read this as
      (I happened to be buying propane in a suburb west of Portland)
      OR
      (standing outside my car looking at the sky )

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Nkwe ( 604125 )

        I happened to be buying propane in a suburb west of Portland, OR standing outside my car looking at the sky

        Am I the only one who read this as (I happened to be buying propane in a suburb west of Portland) OR (standing outside my car looking at the sky )

        Well I was doing both so it still a true statement, but you make a good point.

  • From the article, the really cool thing is how intact the pressure vessel is for something that literally fell out of space. It looks still serviceable, not that anyone would ever be dumb enough to try it.

    • SpaceX potato gun using preflown pressure tanks coming to an ebay store near you!
  • I always wonder about the odds of something like this. Yes, usually space junk falls into the ocean, and sometimes it hits unpopulated land, but sometimes it must hit populated land. Seems like this farmer doesn't really have any damages (debris just hit the ground and left a small impression) but what would happen if this hit a plane or a boat? Certainly it would crash/sink the vehicle immediately killing everyone on board. What are the odds of something like that happening?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by robbak ( 775424 )
      IT is a large and light object, so it fall very slowly, and so it wouldnt' cause much damage to things it fell on, unless they are very fragile.

      A boat wouldn't sink, a plane on the ground would need some repairs. A plane crashing into it as it fell would suffer damage, but that would be really unlikely - there's a lot of air between each plane - and could be serious. But even then, I'd give the plane a good chance to land - a strike in most places wouldn't prevent the plane from landing.

    • Orbital objects these days are usually disposed of safely, either by deorbiting them over the Pacific and into the Spacecraft Graveyard [wikipedia.org] or sending them into a graveyard orbit beyond geosynchronous orbit, but sometimes things go wrong, as happened here. Other options have been studied including lunar impact and heliocentric orbit, though I'm not sure either has been used. Starlink and OneWeb at least have the option of being moved into a disposal orbit where their orbits will naturally decay and they'll burn

      • No satellite have enough fuel to send it of earth gravity. GEO satellites are raised a little bit a decommissioning. All other fall to the ground. Many uncontrolled at random places, but very few have pieces large enough to reach the ground.

    • Re:One in a Million? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Ol Olsoc ( 1175323 ) on Saturday April 03, 2021 @11:44PM (#61234516)

      I always wonder about the odds of something like this. Yes, usually space junk falls into the ocean, and sometimes it hits unpopulated land, but sometimes it must hit populated land. Seems like this farmer doesn't really have any damages (debris just hit the ground and left a small impression) but what would happen if this hit a plane or a boat? Certainly it would crash/sink the vehicle immediately killing everyone on board. What are the odds of something like that happening?

      There have been some scary moments when Space debris returns to earth. The Kosmos 954 nuclear reactor largely survived re-entery in 1977, and landed in the Canadian wilderness, https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com] note, this guy does lighthearted stuff, but his stuff is good.

      And now we can sort of understand why some people get a little skittish when they launch payloads with reactors in them. Case history.

  • Dang it, now everybody will want some space debris.

  • The 4 inch dent in the soil was me...
  • I bet it was using full self driving mode.

  • I've just started watching the series

  • I'd give the man a new roof, fix everything, and give him a really nice "We're sorry" gift.
    For SpaceX that'd be peanuts. For the farmer it would mean a lot. And a PR issue could he turned into positive news.

    I think everybody gets that this was not intentional. Everybody makes mistakes. That is not the problem The problem is what you don't do after.

    Hey, if costs allow it, in the future, it could become "If our debris falls onto your house, you get a free ride to space!". People would actively want it to happ

    • Damn, it didn't even hit is roof. Should've read TFS.

      (BTW: The reason seasoned /. veterans usually don't, is because truly honestly, 90% of the time the news is so predictable, it really isn't even necessary. :)

  • > So, instead of burning up over the ocean, the rocket stage ended up breaking up in the sky over the Pacific Northwest

    Atmospheric reentry physics doesn't depend on whether there's land or sea 100km below. The 2nd stage has no idea either. Therefore, the sentence should've been: "So, instead of breaking up and falling into the ocean, the rocket stage ended up breaking up in the sky over the Pacific Northwest".

    I didn't believe in clean, evaporative burning of heavy machinery before. Basically, it can happ

  • I'm a bit surprised by the whole story. First, the tank looks really intact. Second, the dent in the ground is practically perfect, like the tank fell vertically out of the sky and landed side on (I would have expected it to free fall on its end), and didn't bounce.

    • It doesn't look like the tank left a 'dent' as much as the heat seared away the grass under it where it finally came to rest. It easily could have impacted elsewhere and bounced/rolled there. The cross-sectional density of an empty carbon fiber tank probably acted more beach ball than brick when impacting the ground
  • I thought they deorbited in Southern Indian or Southern Pacific. Why are they doing it in the North Pacific?

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