EPHRATA, Wash. A piece of burning rocket debris seen over the Northwest air in the Pacific Ocean last week crashed on a farm in the eastern state of Washington, authorities said.
After the event on March 25, a farmer discovered an almost intact piece of rocket in a private field, reports The Tri-City Herald.
The pressure vessel, which was assembled and wrapped about 5 feet and used for storing helium, left a diameter of nearly 4 inches in the ground, Grant County Sheriff’s spokesman Kyle Foreman said. No one was hurt, he said.
The Seattle National Weather Service said the brightly reported objects in the air on March 25 were remnants of the second phase of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that left comet-like paths when they burned again to Earth’s atmosphere.
The farmer, who according to authorities said he did not want to be identified, suspected the rubbish may have come from the rocket and left a message with the sheriff over the weekend, Foreman said. Deputies responded to this on Monday and contacted SpaceX officials. SpaceX confirmed that it was part of the rocket and has been locating it ever since, Foreman said.
The Falcon 9 is a reusable two-stage rocket designed by SpaceX to transport people and payloads to Earth’s orbit and beyond, according to the SpaceX website. It is said that there were 111 launches and 71 landings.