A glowing ring of metal fell to Earth, and no one has any idea what it is
The large ring weighs nearly half a ton and does not match a returning rocket.
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/01/a-glowing-ring-of-metal-fell-to-earth-and-no-one-has-any-idea-what-it-is/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social
@rj
#PostOfTheWeek (season 1):
According to the Kenya Space Agency, the object weighed 1,100 pounds and had a diameter of more than 8 feet when measured after it landed on December 30. A couple of days later, the space agency confidently reported that the object was a piece of space debris, saying it was a ring that separated from a rocket. "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."
@arstechnica We really need @DutchSpace back here!
@corsac @arstechnica @DutchSpace
They have given their opinion in the article already
@nithssh @arstechnica @DutchSpace I know that’s why we need them here!
@arstechnica Have there been any russian tanks nearby, lately?
@arstechnica there's a lot of military stuff happening up there that regular people like us are not privy to
@dvshkn @arstechnica fun fact: about 3 years ago (?) my wife at the time was part of the first conference for space stuff (IDK the actual name) in Alabama. She was invited as a historian of the space race. There were lots of people from Space Force as well as other gov't agencies, academics, etc. She says some presentations were kind of terrifying, such as those explaining just how much stuff goes up there from other countries that the US and Europe just don't know about.
@dvshkn @arstechnica why go through the trouble of putting "rods from god" in orbit, when you could do "frisbees from Flying Spaghetti Monstee"?
@arstechnica Scott manly already did a video on this.... It is probably part of a EU payload adaptor....
@arstechnica Maybe it came from a satellite? I dunno.
It looks like a gear mechanism for rotating the sky.
If sunset is a little late tonight please spare a thought for the hamsters who are still running on that wheel trying to compensate for the change in ratio.
@arstechnica It's a Ringworld... but for miniature people.
@arstechnica sorry, that’s mine. My bad everyone.
Rocker booster part between stages is my guess.
@SpaceLifeForm @arstechnica 8 feet in diameter. I’m wondering is this is an older vehicle.
Third stage separation part that somehow did not burn up upon re-entry.
@arstechnica companies don’t want credit for a giant liability..