Engineers are investigating an object that washed ashore in Lincoln County to see if it could be debris from a SpaceX rocket.
On Friday afternoon, the Sheriff’s Office in Lincoln County on Alsea Bay near Waldport responded to reports that someone had found charred debris that they thought could be from a spacecraft.
The object, a large black cylindrical object, is about as long as a wooden pallet.
A fisherman removed the debris and stored it at a local business, and the sheriff’s office contacted several other authorities, including the Oregon Department of Environmental Protection and the Central Oregon Department of Fire and Rescue, which determined that the object does not contain any hazardous materials. .
Authorities contacted SpaceX because they could not immediately see if the object was from one of their spacecraft. But the agency said the item looked like it could be a “composite folded pressure vessel,” an object often used in spacecraft. The agency has determined that it can be transported safely for further investigation.
The sheriff’s office did not specify where the object was taken. It was also not specified with which launch authorities think the debris could be connected, but many Oregon residents saw a large stripe across the sky in late March that authorities say was debris from a failed SpaceX launch.
—Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; [email protected]; @JRamakrishnanOR