SpaceX rocket debris: At around 03:30 GMT on Wednesday, a blazing object lit up the night sky across northern Europe. Many witnesses in Denmark, Sweden, and England saw the spectacle. Some thought it was a meteor, while others believed it was part of a military exercise.
Simon Eriksson, a worker from Malmo, Sweden, described the scene. “I immediately thought of a sci-fi movie where an army was about to attack,” he told the Swedish state broadcaster.
The fireball was actually debris from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. Experts say pieces of the rocket later crashed into Poland and may have also landed in Ukraine.
Debris Found in Poland
At around 10:00 local time (09:00 GMT), Adam Borucki made a shocking discovery outside his warehouse in Komorniki, Poland. A large, burned object, about 1.5 meters by 1 meter, lay near his building. The impact damaged a nearby light fixture.
Mr. Borucki immediately contacted the police. Authorities, working with the Polish space agency Polsa, confirmed that the object was part of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Another piece of debris was later found in a forest near the village of Wiry, Polish police reported.
What Went Wrong?
Polsa confirmed that an uncontrolled re-entry of the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage occurred between 04:46 and 04:48 on February 19, 2025, over Poland.
The rocket, launched by SpaceX from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on February 1, was supposed to return to Earth in a controlled manner. The plan was for it to crash safely into the Pacific Ocean.
However, things did not go as expected. “The engine failed,” said Dr. Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at Harvard University. “We’ve been tracking it for weeks, and we knew an uncontrolled re-entry would happen today.”
The debris moved at an incredible speed. “It zipped over England at 17,000 mph, then passed over Scandinavia before crashing into eastern Europe at a few hundred miles an hour,” Dr. McDowell explained.
SpaceX and the Growing Space Debris Problem
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is designed to be reusable. It is commonly used to transport people and cargo into space. However, uncontrolled re-entries like this one raise concerns about the increasing risk of falling space debris.
Objects from rockets and satellites fall to Earth several times a month. Most of them burn up in the atmosphere, but larger pieces sometimes survive and crash on land.
Dr. McDowell says large rocket re-entries like this are rare but can be dangerous. “So far, we’ve been lucky that no one has been hurt. But as we send more objects into orbit, the risk increases.”
This is not the first time a Falcon 9 rocket has caused problems. “This is the fourth recent incident with a SpaceX Falcon,” Dr. McDowell added. “It seems like engine failures like this are happening more often.”
Could More Debris Be in Ukraine?
Right now, confirmed debris is only in Poland. But experts believe more parts may have landed in western Ukraine. Streaks of light were clearly visible in the sky over the region, suggesting that pieces fell there as well.
Authorities in both Poland and Ukraine are investigating. If more debris is found, it could add to concerns about the safety of space missions and the risk of falling objects.
The Future of Space Safety
Scientists and policymakers have long warned about the dangers of space junk. With more satellites and rockets being launched, the risk of collisions and debris crashes grows every year.
Many experts are calling for stricter regulations. Some suggest that companies like SpaceX should improve their safety measures to ensure that failed rockets do not re-enter Earth in an uncontrolled manner.
For now, people in Poland and Ukraine remain on alert for more debris. SpaceX has not yet issued an official statement about the incident.
For more updates on this developing story, visit New York Mirror.
