Why a Chinese rocket deorbited over Minnesota and left a farmer’s cornfield with debris

A discovery in the cornfield

The farmer found the circular metal object while combining a cornfield in Scott Township, a community in west-central Minnesota. The Stevens County Sheriff’s Office said it received a report about the discovery on Wednesday.

Evidence points to a rocket

Experts connected the object to a Zhuque-2E rocket after comparing its size and the debris’ timing and path with the rocket’s flight. Built by Chinese company LandSpace, the rocket launched from northwestern China on September 15.

The flight lasted about 75 to 80 minutes and did not complete a full orbit. After releasing 10 satellites, the rocket’s upper stage fired its engine to slow down and leave orbit; the stage’s 11-foot diameter matches the Minnesota object.

A planned maneuver, unusual outcome

The rocket carried satellites for Qianfan, a Chinese communications network. Its upper stage deployed them into an orbit about 560 miles above Earth, then traveled over Antarctica and north across the Americas before its deorbit maneuver.

Bringing a spent rocket stage down after a mission can limit new space debris, but such objects are usually directed to reenter over the ocean. LandSpace has not publicly acknowledged the Minnesota debris. The article notes that falling space debris has not seriously injured anyone, though it has caused property damage.