Archive for February, 2025
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February 2nd, 2025
Image credit: KSA
That large metallic ring that dropped into Africa’s Mukuku village, in Makueni county in the country’s south, is apparently still under study.
Reportedly tumbling “red-hot” into that village, the object was pronounced as a piece of rocket debris by investigators with the Kenya Space Agency (KSA) in Nairobia. They reported that the object, which is roughly 8 feet (2.5 meters) in diameter, tipped the scales at some 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms).
“Preliminary assessments indicate that the fallen object is a separation ring from a launch vehicle (rocket),” the KSA stated in a January 1st official statement. The KSA later dismissed a media report by Nation Africa that the country had demanded compensation for the debris dumping from India.
Await official findings
The KSA stressed that “investigations into the object’s origin are still ongoing,” and no official statement has been issued linking the debris to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) “or any specific space mission.”
Image credit: KSAKSA advised the public to “await official findings.”But there continues to be discussion regarding the rocket detritus as possibly associated with the ISRO’s Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) launch on December 30.
The SpaDeX payload flew atop ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C60), lifting off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
Meanwhile, since January 3, the KSA has offered no follow-on word on the purported skyfall nor identifying the object’s origin.
Image credit: ISRO/Inside Outer Space screengrab
Space debris webinar
However, the puzzling metal ring – as well as other incidents tied to space junk falling in Africa – were discussed in a recent January 30 webinar titled: Treating Effective Counter-Measures Against Space Debris in African Countries.
That webinar was hosted by Space in Africa, an analytics and consulting company in the space sector, serving both the institutional and commercial markets with a particular focus on Africa.
Image credit: Space in Africa
The webinar speakers were Dr. Yeshurun Alemayehu, State Minister for the ICT and Digital Economy Sector, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Ethiopia, and Dr. Doreen Agaba, Technical Lead, Department of Aeronautics and Space Science Uganda. The event was moderated by Mustapha Iderawumi, a senior analyst for Space in Africa.
In a description of the webinar posting by Space in Africa, they point out that, “as Africa’s engagement in space activities expands, the issue of space debris has become increasingly pertinent.”
Recent incidents
The intent of the webinar was to analyze recent space debris incidents in Africa, risks posed to African satellites and ground infrastructure, and emerging technological solutions for debris tracking, collision avoidance, and removal.
Taking the fall. Space hardware dives into Earth’s atmosphere with some fragments making their way to the ground.
Image credit: ESA/D.Ducros
“Recent incidents, such as the crash of a separation ring from a launch vehicle from the sky and landing in Mukuku Village, Makueni County in Kenya in December 2024, the space debris from a U.S.-based SpaceX satellite launch fell in western Uganda, causing property damage over a 40-kilometre area, and sightings of possible space debris streaking across southern skies in Ethiopia, highlight the immediate risks posed by falling debris to both space infrastructure and terrestrial communities,” the posted webinar description adds.
Pressurization sphere stemming from a rocket body that fell in Southern Africa years ago.
Image credit: NASA/Orbital Debris Program Office
Legal avenues
One webinar discussion point was the examination of international treaties “to understand the responsibilities of foreign space actors and the legal avenues available to African countries in the event of damage caused by space debris.”
Other areas addressed included assessing the impact of space debris on African space infrastructure and public safety.
The webinar also highlighted the significance of space debris issues among African policymakers, industry stakeholders, and the general public. Exploring mitigation strategies and best practices was another discussion area.
For informative on the webinar, go to:
Go to the webinar replay at:
Also, go to:
Space Debris Delays Flights to South Africa Amid Warnings of Falling Rocket Components
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Image credit: White House
Yesterday, NASA requested the array of Assessment and Analysis Groups (AGs) that provide community input into Moon, Mars, the outer planets and other exploration target planning to pause all meetings.
While the pause is in action, NASA is conducting a review to ensure compliance with recent presidential actions by the President Trump Administration.
All of these AGs are being made aware of this action.
Clarification
The AGs are not “Advisory,” they are “Assessment or Analysis” Groups. These entities cannot be Advisory because they have not been chartered officially by the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) is the oldest “AG”; the only official Advisory Groups are the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) and subsidiaries, such as the Planetary Advisory Committee (PAC).
AGony
The communique from NASA:
“As NASA continues to review and ensure compliance with presidential actions, we are requesting that you please pause all meetings and activities of Planetary Science Analysis/Assessment Groups,” the communique explains.
“This includes ExMAG [Extraterrestrial Materials Assessment Group], LEAG [Lunar Exploration Analysis Group], MAPSIT [Mapping and Planetary Spatial Infrastructure Team], MEPAG [Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group], MExAG [Mercury Exploration Assessment Group], OPAG [Outer Planets Assessment Group] , OWWG [Ocean Worlds Working Group], SBAG [Small Bodies Assessment Group], VEXAG [Venus Exploration Analysis Group], the cross-AG EDIA [Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility] Working Group, and any other groups or activities that have been developed by the AGs.”
Image credit: White House
Executive orders, memoranda
The presidential actions NASA listed as leading to this pause may include, but are not limited to, the following Executive Orders and Presidential memoranda:
- Ending Radical and Wasteful Government Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) Programs and Preferencing
- Initial Guidance Regarding Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA) Executive Orders
Go to: https://chcoc.gov/content/initial-guidance-regarding-deia-executive-orders
- Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions
- Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government
- Initial Guidance Regarding President Trump’s Executive Order Defending Women
- Unleashing American Energy
Go to: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/unleashing-american-energy/
Image credit: NASA
