Space Junk Landing Surprises Kenyans

This is a Kenya news story, published by BBC, that relates primarily to Ariane news.

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massive round metal object

BBC

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Is it a bomb? Is it a plane crash? No, it's space junk

Summary

Nutrition label

83% Informative

A massive round metal object fell from above landing on farmland near a dry riverbed in Kenya .

It is said to weigh more than 500kg ( 1,102 lb) - around the same as an adult horse - and is around 2.5m ( 8ft ) in diameter, roughly the size of a child's four -seater merry-go-round.

The Kenya Space Agency said its preliminary assessments indicated the object was a separation ring from a space launch rocket.

A separation ring from an Ariane rocket may have been orbiting Earth for 16 years before landing in Mukuku .

Nasa estimates there are more than 6,000 tonnes of space debris in orbit.

The chances of such junk hitting someone are in the one -in-10,000 range.

As the space industry grows, such incidents are predicted to become more frequent.

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Informative language

Neutral language

Article tone

informal

Language

English