People in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico had the opportunity to witness the light show of a lifetime last week when what’s likely a SpaceX rocket fell to Earth in a magnificent fireball.
Observers took several pictures of the event from the ground. While there seemed to be some initial confusion as to what was causing the fireball, many now think that it might be an old SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage rocket launched in a March 2017 mission. Third-party orbital debris trackers also believe in this theory.
It is not unprecedented for the rockets and other space debris to fall to the Earth while creating a marvelous spectacle for the observers. Just last year, a separate Falcon 9 rocket stage had fallen in a similar fiery deorbit burn.
Lately, SpaceX is also making headlines for another upcoming Falcon 9 deorbit, except this one is estimated to be smashed into the Moon. We know that the Moon has virtually no atmosphere, that impact is likely to create a new crater for researchers to study.
As the aerospace company ramps up its launch plans for 2022, we can almost certainly expect more space trash to fall to Earth spectacularly in the future.