SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket debris creates dramatic fireball over Europe, crashes in Poland

image via Space.com

February 20, 2025, 4:14 PM

• •A SpaceX rocket stage fell to Earth early Wednesday (Feb. 19), blazing a trail of fire through European skies.
• •The flaming debris was part of the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched 22 of the company's Starlink internet satellites to orbit from California on Feb. 1, experts say.
• •As of Wednesday afternoon, SpaceX had yet to release a statement on the debris. This story is still developing.

A SpaceX rocket stage fell to Earth early Wednesday (Feb. 19), blazing a trail of fire through European skies. The flaming debris was part of the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched 22 of the company's Starlink internet satellites to orbit from California on Feb. 1, experts say. The Falcon 9 upper stage is expendable (unlike the rocket's first-stage booster) but is designed to be brought down in a controlled fashion shortly after launch. That didn't happen on this particular mission, however.

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