Remember that metal ring that fell from the sky? We still don’t know where it comes from

Two weeks have passed since a large metal ring crashed into a village in Kenya, but the authorities are still unable to pinpoint where it came from. The fallen object is raising concerns about how difficult it is to track down space debris — and hold those responsible.

The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) is still investigating the origin of a mysterious object fell from the sky on Mukuku Village in Makueni County during the hours of Monday, December 30, 2024. As of today, however, the origin of the oval fragment remains a mystery. Although it was initially assumed that the ring was discarded space debris, there is little evidence linking it to a specific rocket or satellite.

The metal ring is about 8 feet (2.5 meters) wide, and weighs about 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms). Initial assessment suggested the object is a separation ring – a component used to connect payloads to rockets during launch, ensuring they are placed in orbit before the ring returns to Earth. Separation rings are generally thought to burn up on re-entry through the Earth’s atmosphere, or break into smaller fragments that fall into uninhabited regions of the ocean.

In a declaration published in X, the Kenyan space agency denied the rumors that the Indian Space Research Organization was responsible for the object, dismissing claims that there will be compensation to the residents of the village. “The Kenya Space Agency and the relevant authorities are handling the matter to ensure a thorough and accurate assessment. We advise the public to be cautious about such reports and wait for the official results,” KSA wrote on X.

Another culprit was next calledobject 33155 (2008-034C), an Ariane SYLDA adapter from flight V184. The SYLDA is a hollow shell placed on a payload so that another payload can be placed on top, and this particular one launched on July 7, 2008. After its launch, the SYLDA was left into a geostationary transfer orbit and was re-entered on December 30. (the same day as the ring incident), according to the Space Force’s orbital tracking unit.

Again, this is mere speculation. “The ability of the Space Force to track objects at such very low inclinations is poor once the objects reach a low-altitude orbit, which explains the lack of tracking in the last week,” the astrophysicist of Harvard-Smithsonian Jonathan McDowell, an expert in space tracking. he wrote in a blog post. “That means we can’t really be confident about when and where it re-entered, especially if the Space Force estimate is really just an extrapolation of data from a week earlier.”

The lack of evidence prompted McDowell to wonder if this object had even fallen from space. “It has been suggested that the ring is space debris, but the evidence is marginal,” he added. “I’m not entirely convinced the ring is space debris.”

Marco Langbroek, a professor of astrodynamics at the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands, agreed that the metal ring probably did not come from the SYLDA adapter of an Ariane rocket. That said, he points to other evidence that suggests it’s space debris. “In addition to the metal ring in the photos, other fragments that seemed consistent with space debris, for example, what appeared to be carbon film and insulation foil, were found several kilometers from it,” Langbroek . he wrote in a blog.

The ongoing mystery about the origin of the metallic ring highlights the growing risk of falling space debris, the origin of which can be difficult to track. In March 2023, a two-pound cylinder-shaped object crashed on the roof of a house in Florida. The object was later identified as a fallen piece of a massive pallet of old batteries that NASA had launched from the International Space Station in March 2021, sending it flying through the Earth’s atmosphere. The family whose home was affected sued NASA for property damage. If the debris areas are not claimed, however, then there will likely be no repercussions for whatever damage was caused.

On average, from 200 to 400 man-made objects re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere every year, so the chances of space junk ending up in inhabited areas are slim, but still not zero. The regulations governing this type of incident are not entirely solid. The 1972 Liability Convention states that the launching country is required to pay compensation for any damage caused by its space object, whether in orbit or on Earth. However, the convention stipulates that a company or institution is only responsible for its space debris if it was negligent in some way, but it did not define what constitutes negligence in that case.

Things get even less clear when it comes to unclaimed pieces of debris, as evidenced by the mysterious ring that fell in Kenya.