On December 30, 2024, a large metallic ring weighing half a ton fell from the sky in Makuku village, Makueni County, southern Kenya, as reported by the Kenya Space Agency (KSA). The object, approximately 2.5 meters in diameter, is suspected to be space debris, though its origin remains uncertain.
Local researchers believe the object is part of rocket debris, with initial analysis from the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies (CORDS) in the United States supporting this theory. Their Reentry Database suggests a potential connection to the launch of the Atlas Centaur satellite rocket in 2004.
The rocket debris, identified as object 28385, was predicted to re-enter Earth's atmosphere over Africa on the same date. The Atlas Centaur had launched from Cape Canaveral carrying a secret payload, USA-179, two decades earlier.
However, Jonathan McDowell, a veteran sky observer from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, expressed skepticism, noting a lack of burn marks on the metallic ring, which typically indicates atmospheric re-entry. Data from the U.S. Space Force indicated that object 28385 fell over Lake Baikal in Russia, raising doubts about its connection to the Kenyan event.
Despite the uncertainty, the Kenya Space Agency maintains that the 500-kilogram ring, which flattened trees and shrubs upon impact, is indeed part of space debris. They acknowledged that the object should have burned up upon re-entry, ideally landing in uninhabited areas or oceans.
The agency is investigating the incident within the framework of international space law, highlighting the growing concerns over incidents of falling space debris. Similar occurrences have been reported globally, with a SpaceX rocket fragment striking a home in North Carolina in May 2024 and two large objects found charred in Saskatchewan, Canada, earlier that year.
Space debris poses a threat to astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), which had to maneuver to avoid debris last year. As rocket launches increase globally, experts warn that the problem of space debris is likely to worsen, with hundreds of planned launches scheduled for 2025.