The Kenya Space Agency State Corporation has issued a public alert regarding the potential re-entry of a space object identified as Norad ID 61909/2024-205R, a significant piece of debris originating from a rocket body of unknown mass.
In a statement on April 18, 2025, the Space Agency stated that the object is of particular concern to Kenya due to its projected flight path, which is expected to pass over the eastern African region, including a North-South trajectory across Kenya, from the Northeastern region down to the Southeast, toward Tanzania and further southward.
“The re-entry is predicted to occur on Saturday, 19 April 2025, at around 11:15 pm +/- 15 hrs 46 mins. This means the re-entry through the Earth’s atmosphere could occur within the window from Saturday, 19 April 2025, 7:29 am to Sunday, 20 April 2025, 3:01 pm,” read the statement in part.
Further, the Agency warned that the object could pose a significant risk to life and property along its path owing to its large size.
Agency Issues a Public Alert
“The Space Agency is working with partners to obtain a more precise prediction of the flight path and timeline. While the debris is not expected to drop in Kenya, KSA out of abundance of caution, wishes to advise members of the public to be vigilant and to be on the lookout of potential debris dropping from or flying through the sky within the specified period,” read part of the statement.
Additionally, KSA urge members of the public to report promptly the dropping of any space debris to the security agencies through the nearest police station, national government administrative office, or military camp for necessary action.
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About Space Debris
Space debris is any piece of machinery or debris left by humans in space.
It could also refer to big objects such as dead satellites that have failed or been left in orbit at the end of their mission, or smaller things, like bits of debris or paint flecks that have fallen off a rocket.
All space junk originates from objects launched from Earth and remains in orbit until it eventually re-enters the atmosphere.
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Events when Objects Fell from the Sky
In Kenya, last year December in Makueni, residents of Mukuku Village in Makueni County, were startled by a loud crash after the fall of a heavy metallic object.
The object was approximately 2.5 metres wide and weighed nearly 500 kilograms.
In another incident, in western Uganda in May 2023, villagers reported seeing streaks of fire in the sky before debris began to rain down, causing havoc over a 40-kilometre-wide area.
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PHOTO/ NASA
