スペースＸ宇宙船の破片、豪牧場で発見

【ＡＦＰ＝時事】オーストラリアの羊農場で黒焦げの宇宙船の破片が突き刺さっているのが見つかった問題で、当局は４日、破片はイーロン・マスク氏率いる宇宙開発企業スペースＸの宇宙船の一部だと発表した。（写真はダルゲティーの牧場に突き刺さったスペースＸの破片）
　破片が発見されたのは、シドニーから南西に車で５時間ほどのスノーウィー山地に程近い、人里離れたダルゲティー。７月９日に地表に落下したとみられている。
　天体物理学者のブラッド・タッカー氏は先月、地元の農家らから連絡を受け、現場で破片を確認した 。
　何もない牧草地に巨大な破片が突き刺さっている様子は、まるでＳＦ映画『２００１年宇宙の旅』の一場面のようで、「度肝を抜かれた」とＡＦＰに語った。
　豪宇宙当局は声明を出し、破片はスペースＸのものであると確認し、地元住民に対し、破片を見つけた場合は同社に連絡するよう呼び掛けた。
　タッカー氏は、今回の発見現場の近辺ではさらにスペースＸの宇宙船の破片が見つかる可能性があると話した。
　宇宙船などの残骸の多くは海に落ちるが、世界中で宇宙開発が活発になるにつれ、地表に落ちる破片の数も多くなる可能性があると同氏は指摘。「人が多く住む地域に落ちるリスクがあり、それがどういう結果になるかわれわれは理解する必要がある」と語った。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/08/05-13:00）

A charred chunk of space junk found jutting from a paddock by an Australian sheep farmer was part of one of Elon Musk's SpaceX missions, authorities confirmed Thursday.
The ethereal-looking debris, believed to have plummeted to Earth on July 9, was found last week in Dalgety -- a remote area near Australia's Snowy Mountains, about five hours' drive southwest of Sydney.
It was kind of exciting and weird all in the same way, astrophysicist Brad Tucker, who visited the site after local farmers contacted him last month, told AFP.
He said that finding the large chunk embedded in an empty field reminded him of something out of the sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
It's astounding to see it.
Australia's space agency confirmed the debris had come from one of Musk's missions in a statement and told locals to report any further finds to SpaceX.
The Agency has confirmed the debris is from a SpaceX mission and continues to engage with our counterparts in the US, as well as other parts of the Commonwealth and local authorities as appropriate, an Australian Space Agency spokesman said.
Tucker said the piece was part of a trunk jettisoned by the earlier Crew-1 capsule when it re-entered Earth's atmosphere in 2021.
He said the trunk had split up on re-entry, with reports of other space junk also found at nearby properties, making more discoveries linked to the SpaceX mission likely.
Most space debris splashes down at sea but with the increase in space industries worldwide, the amount crashing to earth would likely increase, he added.
We do have to realise that there is a likely risk it may hit in a populated area once and what that means.
Benjamin Reed, senior director of SpaceX's human spaceflight programme, told reporters during a news conference that the company was aware of the reports and we actually have a team that's going there to check that out.
He said SpaceX was in touch with authorities including the US State Department and the Australian Space Agency adding: The important news is, of course, that there were no injuries, no damage.
This was all within the expected analysed space of what can happen, said Reed, though SpaceX will always look for ways we can improve things.
Crew-1 was the second crewed flight for the Crew Dragon spacecraft. It launched from Florida in November 2020 and splashed down off the Gulf of Mexico in May 2021.
Dragon's trunk section connects the capsule with the Falcon 9 rocket on ascent. In orbit, half the trunk contains a solar array, while the other contains a radiator to release heat.
Both of these are mounted to the exterior of the trunk, which the capsule jettisons shortly before atmospheric reentry.