Junk from a SpaceX Dragon 'trunk' may have crashed into a Canadian farmer's field (photos)

If confirmed, this would not be the first time a trunk made it through Earth's atmosphere. Back in August 2022, a fragment from Dragon was found in a rural Australian sheep paddock (the find was confirmed by SpaceX and the Australian Space Agency).

Benjamin Reed, senior director of SpaceX's human spaceflight program, addressed the debris during a livestreamed NASA Crew-5 press briefing that August. He said there were "no injuries, no damage" associated with the reports and that the debris fell in "an expected path of where things may come down."

"We use models that are ultimately approved, to predict and plan for these things," added Reed, emphasizing SpaceX works closely with NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration or FAA (which licenses launches in the United States) with such matters.

"The trunk segment … typically burns up in the atmosphere over the open ocean posing minimal risk to public safety," the FAA added in its own statement to CNN at the time.

Debris from a SpaceX launch in April 2021 was also found on a central Washington farm, although this one was from the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket. The Grant County Sheriff's Office confirmed it was SpaceX hardware, although the California company did not respond to comment back then.

Space debris, if it causes injuries or damage, technically can be covered under a section of the United Nations' Outer Space Treaty popularly known as the Space Liability Convention. 

A claim under that treaty has only been invoked once, after the nuclear-powered Soviet Kosmos 954 satellite fell in the far north of Canada in 1978, requiring years of pricey cleanup in the ecologically sensitive area that is home to numerous Indigenous groups. Moscow settled with the Canadian government for $3 million CAD in 1981; that's roughly $10 million CAD today, or $7.3 million USD with current exchange rates.

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Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace