Poland finds mysterious objects – possible debris from SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
On the night of February 19, an uncontrolled atmospheric entry of the Falcon 9 rocket stage was recorded over Poland. The 4-ton object posed no threat.
Photo: ames McCloskey, CC BY-SA 2.0
In the early hours of February 19, 2025, between 04:46 and 04:48, an uncontrolled atmospheric entry of the Falcon 9 rocket booster occurred over Polish territory, as reported by the Polish Space Agency (POLSA).
The object, weighing about 4 tons, was part of SpaceX's Starlink Group 11-4 mission, launched on February 1 from Vandenberg Base in the U.S. Its trajectory was known to European monitoring services (EUSST).
Despite the uncontrolled entry into the atmosphere, there was no threat to the population. POLSA specialists regularly track such objects and share information with relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Defense and the RCB.
Later, it became known that a mysterious object resembling a container was discovered on the premises of a company in the village of Komorniki, near the Polish city of Poznań, as reported by Reuters.
A similar object was also found in a forest near the village of Wiry, about 30 km from the first discovery site.
According to police, the origin of the objects has not yet been determined, but specialists from the Polish Space Agency (POLSA) suspect they may be fragments of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The agency had been tracking its flight and is now awaiting the results of a detailed analysis.
To rule out any potential threats, a chemical and environmental rescue team was dispatched to the site. POLSA stated that photos of the findings have been sent to SpaceX for verification.
Given its proximity to Ukraine, Poland maintains heightened vigilance against unauthorized objects in its airspace.
Earlier, it was reported that SpaceX plans to send the first Starship missions to Mars in two years to test landing technologies, with crewed flights expected in four years if successful.
It was also reported that a Russian Su-24MR crossed the Polish border, penetrating 6.5 km into its airspace and remaining there for 72 seconds. Moscow called the incident a navigational error.