The afternoon is almost always quiet in the small Chaco town of \u00a0Puerto Tirol\u00a0, north of Argentina. On Thursday, that tranquility was interrupted by an object fallen from heaven. It appeared on a rural property whose owner promptly called the police. The authorities cordoned off the area while awaiting the arrival of the firefighters. Following this incident, all investigations began online.<\/p>\n
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What is known.<\/strong> The object measures \u00a01.70 meters long\u00a0 and \u00a01.20 meters in diameter\u00a0. It is metallic, features a cylindrical shape, and is covered with carbon fiber or a similar \u00a0compound material\u00a0, suggesting it is likely a \u00a0pressurized propellant tank\u00a0, a piece of space equipment known as a \u00a0Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel (COPV)\u00a0.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When a satellite or a rocket re-enters the atmosphere, most of its body burns due to the pressure. However, these containers are designed to withstand very high pressures, which explains why some of them survive largely intact\u2014albeit somewhat \u00a0charred\u00a0 and \u00a0frayed\u00a0, as seen in the photos.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What is suspected.<\/strong> The first identification came from the Caribbean Astronomy Society (\u00a0SAC\u00a0) through a Facebook post<\/a>. They confirmed that the object resembles a piece of a space vehicle, specifically a \u00a0COPV\u00a0. They pointed out that among the most recent launches, the main candidate for this object is likely a \u00a0Chinese rocket\u00a0 that was launched just the day before.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Analyses of the trajectory seem to confirm these suspicions. Renowned astrophysicist and satellite tracker \u00a0Jonathan McDowell\u00a0 corroborated the hypothesis, stating that the object is “probably” the tank of the fourth stage of a \u00a0Chinese Jielong-3 rocket\u00a0.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From China to Chaco.<\/strong> The private company \u00a0China Rocket\u00a0 launched the \u00a0eighth mission of its Jielong-3 rocket\u00a0 on Wednesday. The Y8 mission took off from a maritime platform<\/a> at 07:56 UTC to deploy \u00a012 satellites\u00a0 belonging to the \u00a0Geely Future Mobility\u00a0 constellation, which provides positioning and communications services for the Chinese automotive giant Geely.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After deploying the satellites, the rocket’s fourth stage continued orbiting the Earth until \u00a09:00 UTC\u00a0 the next day, when it was sighted disintegrating in the sky about \u00a015 kilometers from Puerto Tirol\u00a0. Most likely, it did not burn up completely, allowing the tank to survive the fall.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A questionable history.<\/strong> In recent years, China has attracted attention for several incidents involving falling space debris. One of the most infamous cases is that of the \u00a0CZ-5B state rocket\u00a0, whose central stage, weighing over \u00a020 tons\u00a0, is designed to reach orbit and subsequently fall back to Earth in an unpredictable manner within days or weeks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n However, this behavior is evolving. Both state and private companies are increasingly focused on their rockets’ capabilities to maintain controllable paths, ensuring they have some fuel remaining after deploying satellites.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The problem is not that.<\/strong> The real issue at hand is \u00a0space debris\u00a0. The Earth\u2019s orbit has become a landfill, with a plethora of \u00a0inactive satellites\u00a0 and rocket parts circling the globe. Due to atmospheric braking, many of these objects are gradually descending towards Earth. With the rise of satellite megaconstellations, an average of \u00a0three significant pieces of space debris\u00a0 re-enter the atmosphere daily\u2014often without any control.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As a consequence, incidents in populated areas are becoming increasingly frequent. In March 2024, a fragment of a battery pallet discarded from the \u00a0International Space Station\u00a0 crashed through the roof of a house. In January 2025, a half-ton ring appeared in a town in \u00a0Kenya\u00a0. In February, several pieces of a \u00a0SpaceX rocket\u00a0 fell near a city in \u00a0Poland\u00a0.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While Earth is vast\u2014predominantly \u00a0depopulated\u00a0 or covered with water\u2014it’s only a matter of time before something serious occurs. As such, space agencies like \u00a0ESA\u00a0 are advocating for a commitment to “zero waste” initiatives to enforce stricter regulations on their missions. Achieving a global consensus on this issue is critical.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <img alt=\"Russia sent 75 mice to space in a Soviet design capsule. All have returned except 10\" width=\"375\" height=\"142\" src=\"https:\/\/i.blogs.es\/2ab0b6\/captula-animales\/375_142.jpeg\"\/><\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n