The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) has since confirmed the object as a “fragment of a space object.”
A massive, fiery object fell from the sky into a Kenyan village on Monday afternoon, sparking curiosity and concern among locals, according to the country’s national broadcaster.
The KSA revealed that the debris landed in the remote village of Mukuku, located in Makueni County. Measuring approximately 2.5 meters (8 feet) in diameter and weighing 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds), the object has been taken into custody by the agency for further examination.
“Such objects are usually designed to burn up as they re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere or to fall over unoccupied areas, such as the oceans. This is an isolated case, which the Agency will investigate and address using the established framework under the International Space law,” KSA stated.
To date, no fatalities have been recorded from space debris falling from the sky. The closest known incident occurred in March, when a two-pound fragment, roughly the size of a soda can, fell from the International Space Station and smashed through a family’s roof in Florida. The family has since filed a lawsuit against NASA over the ordeal.
Since the dawn of space exploration in the late 1950s, the possibility of objects returning to Earth unpredictably has been a known risk. However, with the increasing number of launches, this risk continues to grow.
