Fallen Space Debris Found Burning Near Mine, Prompting Questions About Its Surprising Return to Earth

A pile of unidentified space debris was discovered burning near a mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, raising questions about its unexpected descent to Earth.

According to reports from 9News and ABC News, workers at a Pilbara mine site contacted emergency services around 2 p.m. local time on Saturday, Oct. 18, after spotting the smoldering wreckage.

In a statement, Western Australia Police said the object was not believed to be from a commercial aircraft, but rather appeared to be “a composite-overwrapped pressure vessel or rocket tank,” consistent with aerospace components.

“The object remains under investigation, though its characteristics are consistent with known space re-entry debris,” police said. They added that engineers from the Australian Space Agency will conduct a detailed technical assessment to identify its origin. The debris has since been secured and poses no threat to the public, authorities confirmed to ABC News.

The Guardian reported that Alice Gorman, an archaeologist, author, and associate professor at Flinders University, believes the object “seems to be the fourth stage of a Jielong rocket,” a Chinese launch vehicle. “There was one launched in late September,” she noted. “If it is the one from the 25th, that means it’s been orbiting the Earth for a bit and then came out of the blue.”

Matt Woods of the Perth Observatory told 9News that such re-entries are not unusual, explaining that many space agencies intentionally allow parts of rockets to burn up as they fall back into the atmosphere. “It is on purpose that this bit of rocket body has landed back,” he said, “but it could just be the way that it’s been tumbling that this piece was able to survive.”

However, Gorman pointed out that “there was no indication” this particular fragment was expected to re-enter when it did. “When I went to look for re-entry predictions, I couldn’t find anything,” she said. “That’s an indication of the suddenness of it.”

Police, fire officials, and the Australian Space Agency are continuing to investigate the incident.