A series of rocket launches this week have led to debris falling from space to populated areas in Europe and the Bahamas. The incidents highlight the increasing number of rockets taking off each week, making it more likely that space junk will end up on land.
According to the European Space Agency, most space debris is blown to smithereens as it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere at thousands of miles per hour. However, some pieces can make it back to land without exploding or disintegrating.
In Europe, a piece of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket streaked across the German sky and landed on private property in Poland. In the Bahamas, a large chunk of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket nose cone washed up on the shore near a tourist destination.
Experts say that while space debris poses some risks to people on the ground, the risk is extremely remote. “Pieces that survive have only very rarely caused any damage on the ground,” said Marlon Sorge, executive director of the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies.
However, the incidents also raise concerns about safety standards for test flights of unproven launch vehicles traveling over population centers. As more rockets take off each week, the likelihood of space junk landing in populated areas increases.
Space agencies and regulators maintain that the risk is minuscule, but experts warn that even small pieces can cause damage if handled improperly. The European Space Agency notes that a person is about 65,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning than injured by space debris.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/21/science/blue-origin-spacex-debris-bahamas-europe/index.html