500-kg space debris crashes into Kenya village
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There is a growing problem of space debris, to the extent that it could pose a danger to people. Earlier this week, an enormous metal ring crashed into the Kenyan village of Mukuku, 116 km southeast of the capital Nairobi. The mystery object was approximately 2.5 metres wide, and weighed 500 kilograms. It had the potential to cause significant loss of life and damage to property. Fortunately, it landed in a small wood. Kenya's Space Agency said the hunk of metal was probably the separation ring from a recently-launched rocket. An official said: "Our experts will analyze the object…and keep the public informed of the outcome." It said this was "an isolated case".
The problem of space debris will get bigger as more companies and countries launch rockets into the heavens. There has been a heating up of the space race in the past decade. Many satellites from the USA, China, India and other nations are now orbiting Earth and probing deep space. Commercial companies, such as Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin have sent dozens of rockets into low-Earth orbit. The European Space Agency estimated that there are currently more than 14,000 tons of debris circling our planet. This includes over 170 million pieces of space junk that are wider than one millimetre. Most of these harmlessly burn up upon re-entry into our atmosphere.
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