Part of a Chinese rocket?: 'stranger' object from space crashes in Minnesota

A ton of debris amazes a community in Minnesota. But where did the partially charred object come from? The tracks apparently lead to a rocket launch in September.

In the middle of a cornfield in the US state of Minnesota, there is suddenly a huge piece of metal. The circular, partially charred object measures around 3.35 meters in diameter. Where it comes from is unclear. The local police cautiously speak of a "presumed space object". However, according to US media, there is growing evidence that the find may have been part of a Chinese missile.

The metal part was discovered on October 14 in Scott Township in western Minnesota. Around 3:30 p.m., Stevens County Sheriff’s Office received a call about “foreign debris” in a cornfield, according to the Facebook page. On site, the emergency forces found the unusually large object. "The officials confirmed that a large metallic object about 11 feet in diameter, presumably a space object, was in the cornfield," the sheriff's office said. Federal and state authorities were involved.

According to the news site "Ars Technica", the object was part of a Zhuque-2E rocket from the Chinese space company LandSpace. This was successfully launched in northwest China on September 15 to bring ten communications satellites into polar orbit. The start itself was successful according to Chinese data.

The suspicion is justified by the news portal with the flight path, time and size of the rocket: The upper stage of the Zhuque-2E entered the atmosphere shortly after the launch over North America, glowing debris was observed in the direction of Minnesota. In addition, the rocket stage measures around 3.35 meters in diameter - practically as much as the found metal part. However, the origin is not officially confirmed.

That such a large piece reaches the ground at all is unusual, but according to experts not excluded: Upon re-entry, disused rocket stages and satellites race through the atmosphere at high speed. This creates enormous temperatures, which burns up a large part of the material. However, particularly robust components can survive re-entry and land on the earth's surface. According to NASA, on a long-term average, a catalogued piece of space debris falls back to Earth every day. Serious injuries caused by such debris have not yet been confirmed.

Space agencies therefore calculate, even when designing satellites and rockets, how likely it is that debris on re-entry endanger people on the ground. According to NASA specifications, the risk that a person will be injured by debris in the event of an uncontrolled re-entry somewhere on Earth should be at a maximum of 1:10,000.

And who is liable for space junk? If such a piece actually causes damage, there are even international rules. According to the United Nations Space Liability Convention, a launching state is generally liable for damage caused by its space object on the Earth's surface. Parts of a launcher rocket are expressly also considered as space objects.

In the cornfield of Minnesota, the matter was apparently mild. At least no injuries were reported and the authorities saw no danger to the public. Now they want to clarify who actually owns the huge find and how it can be removed.