Kenya investigating fallen space debris

Nairobi: Kenyan officials said Wednesday they were investigating fragments of metal, believed to be from a rocket, that crashed into a village in the...

Nairobi: Kenyan officials said Wednesday they were investigating fragments of metal, believed to be from a rocket, that crashed into a village in the country's south.

The issue of space trash has risen in tandem with increased spatial traffic.

Kenya Space Agency (KSA) said the object, a metallic ring roughly 2.5 metres (8 feet) in diametre and weighing some 500 kilogrammes (1,100 pounds), crashed into Mukuku village, in Makueni county, on December 30 at around 3:00 pm local time (1200 GMT).

The KSA, working alongside other agencies and local authorities, "secured the area and retrieved the debris, which is now under the Agency's custody for further investigation."

It said "preliminary assessments indicate that the fallen object is a separation ring from a launch vehicle", which are designed to either burn up upon re-entry to Earth's atmosphere or fall over uninhabited areas.