Mysterious Metal Ring in Kenya Stirs Space Junk Debate
In a small village in Kenya, an enigmatic object weighing about 1,100 pounds and shaped like an 8-foot metal ring was found on December 30.
Initially thought to be a piece of space junk, the Kenya Space Agency identified the object as having withstood the fiery reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, making its survival and appearance a topic of intrigue.
Harvard astrophysicist and space tracker Jonathan McDowell has raised doubts about the object’s extraterrestrial origin.
On his blog, highlighted by Ars Technica, McDowell expressed skepticism, suggesting that the evidence pointing to it as space debris is not compelling.
Contrarily, Marco Langbroek, a lecturer from Delft Technical University, noted materials found near the site, like carbon wrap and isolation foil, which might support the space debris theory.
Both experts considered the possibility that the ring could be a part of the Ariane V rocket, launched by the European Space Agency in 2008, designed to carry two satellites.
However, the last sighting of this suspected space junk was on December 23, indicating a week-long gap before its discovery, which Langbroek explained as due to tracking difficulties near the equator.
Arianespace and an anonymous reliable source on X, DutchSpace, have both refuted the claim that the metal ring was part of the rocket’s SYLDA shell.
The French newspaper LeParisien also reported on Arianespace’s dismissal of this theory.
While the debate continues, with no definitive proof yet, the discovery highlights the ongoing issue of space debris.
Objects reentering Earth’s atmosphere and reaching the ground have been observed before, especially in remote areas, marking a concerning trend as our orbit becomes more cluttered.