Debris From SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Rockets Isn’t Something to Be Taken Lightly. It Cost Poland’s Space Agency President His Job

The fall of debris from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in Poland in mid-February has had important consequences, including the dismissal of the president of the Polish Space Agency (POSA).

Context. On Feb. 19, the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket, which had failed to deorbit two weeks earlier, reentered Earth’s atmosphere uncontrollably. This 45-foot-long, 12-foot-diameter booster disintegrated over Northern Europe.

Surviving fragments landed near the city of Poznań in Western Poland. A carbon fiber-coated tank measuring around 5 feet struck the enclosure of an electrical materials warehouse without causing any damage. An employee at the warehouse promptly alerted the police.

Initial response. The following day, POLSA said that it had informed various government institutions about the situation in a timely manner. According to the agency, its Space Security Department continuously monitors threats from artificial objects in space, including rockets.

SpaceX typically deorbits its Falcon 9 over the ocean, away from populated areas. However, a technical failure occurred after the Starlink 11-4 mission deployment on Feb. 2, causing the rocket’s second stage to fail to ignite its engine for a controlled reentry. As a result, the rocket orbited the Earth until it eventually reentered the atmosphere due to gravity and atmospheric braking. This happened on Feb. 19 at 4:43 a.m. Polish time.

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Contradictions. Several Falcon 9 fragments were found in different parts of Poland, triggering an internal crisis. Polish development and technology minister Krzysztof Paszyk publicly contradicted POLSA, claiming that the agency hadn’t informed authorities. He called for urgent explanations from POLSA president Grzegorz Wrochna.

On Feb. 28, POLSA clarified that it had indeed sent information about the reentry to the country’s Ministry of National Defense. However, according to European Spaceflight, the agency admitted that the information was sent to incorrect email addresses. To make matters worse, on March 2, POLSA suffered a cyberattack that forced it to disconnect its systems from the Internet until three days later.

The Polsa president’s dismissal. On March 11, Paszyk officially announced Wrochna’s dismissal. He was fired for improper handling of the uncontrolled descent of Falcon 9 debris over Poland.

For its part, SpaceX clarified that it’s cooperating with the Polish government in recovery and cleanup efforts, assuring that no toxic materials are present in the wreckage. The company has provided a specific phone number and email address for reporting rocket debris: 1-866-623-0234 and recovery@spacex.com.

Images | Jill Bazeley | POLSA

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