Residents across several European countries were captivated by a spectacular light show in the early hours Wednesday, as bright lights with long fiery tails streaked across the sky. The phenomenon was linked to debris from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket re-entering Earth's atmosphere, according to officials from the German Air Force's Space Command.
Just after 4:45 a.m., people in Germany, including those in North Rhine-Westphalia, observed lights in the sky, prompting citizens to contact the police for an explanation. Many described seeing "something bright in the sky" or a "light ball," as reported by Tagesschau. Callers from cities such as Essen, Stendal, and Brandenburg reached out to authorities due to the spectacle.
A spokesperson for the German Air Force's Space Command confirmed that the ray of light was debris from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that had re-entered the atmosphere uncontrollably and disintegrated in the air. "According to current knowledge, debris has not fallen to Earth," the spokesperson said, adding, "There is no evidence that debris could have fallen on Germany," as reported by Die Zeit.
The Falcon 9 second stage that ended over Germany originated from the launch of a group of 40 Starlink satellites. The rocket was launched on February 1 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as part of Elon Musk's Starlink program, which aims to provide global internet coverage via a constellation of satellites, according to Münchner Merkur. After delivering its payload, the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket burned up upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.
"After the launch of a Falcon 9, the first rocket stage, called the booster, is landed again, while the second stage burns up in the atmosphere," explained an expert from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), as reported by Focus Online. This controlled deorbiting procedure is employed by SpaceX to limit the accumulation of space debris.
The burning rocket parts were visible over several German cities, including Bremen, Berlin, Hamburg, and Lübeck, at altitudes between 80 to 100 kilometers.
An expert from Heidelberg noted that such events can only be predicted to a limited extent. "Often the parts come from the 50s and 60s, and there we often don't know in advance," the expert stated, according to N-TV. He added that while satellites being decommissioned are often announced, other debris re-enters the atmosphere without prior notice. "Usually, nothing more than a light spectacle remains," he concluded.
Experts anticipate that such events will become more frequent due to the increasing number of space launches.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq