SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has successfully retrieved a rocket that had landed in the waters of the Indian Ocean, near the vicinity of Christmas Island.
The space vehicle debris was transported to this distant island, located approximately 1,500 kilometers off the north-western coast of Western Australia, this past Tuesday.
In a social media announcement, the renowned aerospace company stated, “Following an approximate 24-day journey at sea, the SpaceX Recovery team adeptly navigated the Starship to a site just offshore of Christmas Island.”
The company added that a cadre of SpaceX engineers is en route to further inspect the spacecraft in more stable waters, with the aim of eventually transporting it back to Starbase.
It has been reported that locals from this secluded territory congregated along the coastline, eager to witness the towing of the impressive 52-meter rocket.
Photographer Chris Bray, who usually focuses on wildlife, said it was not something he ever expected to see.
“This SpaceX Starship was towed into the protected waters around Christmas Island this morning after an unusually gentle landing in the Indian Ocean almost a month ago left it unexpectedly floating and potentially recoverable instead of the usual explosion!” he said on an Instagram post on Tuesday.
“Cool to see! So BIG!”
Bray’s aerial photos show the mostly black-coloured rocket being towed by cable attached to two large ships.
The rocket, which has three large and three small rocket nozzles, appears to have lost some of its outer coating, but was otherwise intact.
The SpaceX website said the company’s Starship spacecraft and super heavy rocket were a reusable transport system designed to carry crew and cargo into “orbit, the moon, Mars and beyond”.
It’s not the first space debris to land in WA.
In 2023, a large gold-coloured dome-like object was found on a beach about 250km north of Perth.
The Australian Space Agency later concluded it was an expended third stage of a polar satellite launch vehicle operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation.
In 1979, parts of NASA’s Skylab space station crashed to earth near the sleepy towns of Esperance and Balladonia, triggering a global media frenzy.