Kenyan officials said Wednesday they are investigating metal fragments believed to be from a missile that fell on a village in the country's south.
The problem of space debris has arisen in tandem with the increase in space traffic.
This was reported by the Kenya Space Agency (KSA). the object, a metal ring about 8 feet in diameter and weighing about 1,100 pounds, fell on the village of Mukuku in Makueni County on December 30 at around 3:00 p.m. local time (12:00 GMT).
The KSA, working alongside other agencies and local authorities, “secured the area and removed the debris, which is now in the custody of the Agency for further investigation”.
It said that “preliminary assessments indicate that the fallen object is a separation ring from a launch vehicle,” which could either burn up on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere or fall over uninhabited areas.
“This is an isolated incident that the agency will investigate and deal with,” the KSA said in a statement.
It said the facility did not pose a threat to public safety and praised nearby villagers who quickly notified authorities.
The KSA said it was working to determine the origin of the work.
Past examples of man-made space debris reaching Earth include part of the SpaceX Dragon capsule that landed on Australian sheep farm in 2022.
And earlier this year, NASA faced a lawsuit from an American family whose home in Florida was damaged by falling metal. A cylindrical object broke through the house Alejandro Otero in Naples on March 8. He told CBS affiliate WINK-TV in Fort Myers, Fla., that his son called him about the vandalism while he was on vacation.
“I was beaten. I was in complete disbelief. What are the odds of something landing on my house with that much force to do that much damage,” Otero said. “I'm very thankful that no one was hurt.”
China has also been criticized by NASA for allowing its giant Long March rockets to fall to Earth after orbit.
Last February, the European Space Agency reported that a satellite weighing as much as an adult male rhinoceros had uncontrolled return to Earthre-entering the atmosphere over the North Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Hawaii.