Kenyans warned of potential re-entry of significant rocket debris
Kenya Space Agency says the object could pose a significant risk to life and property along its path owing to its large size but adds it is not expected to fall in the country
The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) has warned members of the public of a potential re-entry of a space object Norad ID 61909/ 2024-205R which is a significant debris from a rocket body of unknown mass.
In a statement, KSA said the object is of particular interest to Kenya as the projected flight trajectory is over the eastern African region including Kenya in a North-South path from the North Eastern region to the South East of Kenya towards Tanzania and further southward.
“The re-entry is predicted to occur on Saturday 19 April 2025 at around 11:15 pm +/- 15 hrs 46 mins. This means the re-entry through the earth’s atmosphere could occur within the window from Saturday 19 April 2025, 7:29am to Sunday 20 April 2025, 3:01pm.”
It adds that the object could pose a significant risk to life and property along its path owing to its large size.
“The Kenya Space Agency is working with partners to obtain more precise prediction of the flight path and timeline. While the debris is not expected to drop in Kenya, KSA out of abundance of caution, wishes to advise members of the public to be vigilant and to be on the lookout of potential debris dropping from or flying through the sky within the specified period. We further urge members of the public to report promptly dropping of any space debris to the security agencies through the nearest police station, national government administrative office or military camp for necessary action,” the KSA statement added.
In December last year, a massive metallic object that fell from the skies and landed in Mukuku Village in Makueni County.
According to KSA, the object, a metallic ring measuring approximately 2.5 metres in diameter and weighing about 500 kilogrammes, was a fragment of a space object.
Preliminary assessments indicated that it was a separation ring from a launch vehicle (rocket).
Such objects are usually designed to burn up as they re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere or to fall over unoccupied areas, such as the oceans with KSA terming it as an isolated case.
However, while the agency promised to investigate and address using the established framework under the
International Space law, which requires owners of space objects that destroy property or cause deaths to provide compensation, nothing much has been heard over the matter.
