Maritime and Coastguard Agency(LONDON) — The rocket debris that washed up near the British coast last week comes from one of SpaceX’s launches, the company confirmed on Monday.
Initial speculation pointed to the debris possibly being from the company’s failed launch to the International Space Station in June.
Elon Musk’s company is putting the mystery to rest though, telling ABC News on Monday the debris has actually been at sea much longer and comes from the successful CRS-4 mission that launched 14 months ago from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Covered in barnacles and measuring 32 feet by 14 feet, the metal structure has an American flag painted on it. The rocket debris was found bear the Isles of Scilly, which are more than 4,000 miles away from the launch site.
The debris were spotted on the sea’s surface and recovered with the help of local boatmen, the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency said in a statement.
“It was pretty shocking to scrape the barnacles off and then find out it was a rocket ship,” said Joe Thomas, a skipper for Tresco Boat Services who said he came across the metal 100 meters off the shore.
The structure was towed to the beach of the island of Tresco, where it was kept under guard after its discovery.
“It’s not every day a bit of a rocket floats up at home,” Thomas said.
It was not immediately clear what fate awaits the rocket debris now that the mystery has been solved.
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