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VIDEO: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket debris spotted burning in night’s sky

Hundreds took to social media showing videos and photos of Elon Musk’s space project

People across the west coast – both in Canada and over the border – were surprised with a once-in-a-lifetime show in the sky last night, of what appears to have been a SpaceX rocket breaking up.

Thousands took to social media to share what they saw on Thursday night.

According to Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the Falcon 9 second stage from the March 4 Starlink launch failed to make a deorbit burn as it entered Earth’s atmosphere.

McDowell said this marks the 14th piece of “space junk” with a mass over one tonne that has reentered since January.

It’s unclear if SpaceX founder Elon Musk caught the light show.

More to come.


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
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