SpaceX personnel collect space junk found in farmers field in Saskatchewan

ITUNA, Sask. — Two men with SpaceX descended on a Saskatchewan farm Tuesday in a moving truck to retrieve space debris that fell earlier this year from one of its spacecraft.

The workers, who did not give their names as they were at the farm near Ituna, put the large pieces of burnt carbon fiber and aluminum into the back of the U-Haul before leaving.

They declined to say why the fragments failed to burn up before hitting the field, what spacecraft the pieces came from, where the wreckage is headed and what the company plans to do with it.

They confirmed they work for SpaceX, founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk, and referred additional questions to a company email. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

The recovery comes months after farmer Barry Sawchuk found the debris and said he was contacted by SpaceX about returning it.

One fragment, taller than Sawchuk, weighs 44 kilograms. A second, smaller one is about 10 kilograms. Other pieces were also found on neighboring farms.

Sawchuk said SpaceX paid him an undisclosed amount of money to recover the debris and plans to use those dollars to help finance a new ice rink in the northeast Regina community.

He said for the men to show up on Tuesday was like any other day.

“It’s no different than going to seed a crop or harvesting a good crop. It’s all the same,” Sawchuk told reporters.

“I guess the only thing is that it’s a small community that’s on the map. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen again and someone doesn’t get hurt.”

Sawchuk, who spoke briefly with SpaceX staff, said they told him the company wanted to figure out why the debris didn’t dissolve in the atmosphere.

“They’ve realized there’s a problem, so they’re trying to fix it,” he said.

University of Regina astronomy professor Samantha Lawler, who was at the farm to witness the recovery, said she wanted to know why the space junk didn’t burn.

She said the company has thousands of Starlink satellites in orbit that are expected to re-enter Earth in batches over the next few years. There will be trouble if they land, she said.

“If those re-entries hit the ground in hundred-pound pieces of trash like we just saw, that (could) kill a lot of people. It’s terrifying.”

Lawler added that she was not surprised that SpaceX workers did not share more details.

“SpaceX is so notorious for not responding to journalists, ever,” she said.

Lawler previously sent photos and information about Sawchuk’s debris to Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astrophysicist who tracks space launches.

Analyzing data, McDowell determined that the farmer’s discovery was likely related to a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that returned to Earth with four passengers from the International Space Station in February.

Debris has also been found in other locations in the United States and Australia.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 11, 2024.

Jeremy Simes, Canadian Press