‘Once in a lifetime’: SpaceX visits rural Sask. to retrieve space junk

SpaceX has retrieved several pieces of fallen debris in southern Saskatchewan, months after the space junk first landed in farmers’ fields.

Two men who identified themselves as SpaceX employees drove from farm to farm loading the space junk into a U-Haul on Tuesday.

The chunks are believed to be from the trunk of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft — a ship that transports astronauts to and from the International Space Station — that re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere in late February.

The trunk was supposed to detach and completely burn up in the atmosphere upon re-entry.

Since then, at least eight pieces have been found on five different farms within a 30-kilometre radius. Barry Sawchuk, who farms near Ituna, Sask., was the first to find a chunk of debris in April.

“It’s (been) very, very educational,” Sawchuk said.

“I met a lot of interesting people and learned lots of different things.”

Sawchuk said the hype around the space junk brought his neighbours together “for a once in a lifetime” event.

The SpaceX employees would not answer media questions, but told reporters they were taking the debris back to their “offices.”

Two men with SpaceX, who didn’t provide their names, retrieve space junk that fell earlier this year from one of its spacecraft, in a still frame taken from video footage made near Ituna, Sask., on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (Jeremy Simes / The Canadian Press)

SpaceX has not responded to several requests for comment from CTV News.

Sawchuk met with the men privately after they packed up the debris. The farmer did not disclose the exact discussion he had with the employees, but said the company is trying to figure out why the space junk did not burn up in the atmosphere.

“They came. They realize there’s an issue so they’re trying to deal with it,” Sawchuk said.

This is not the first time this same type of debris has crashed down onto Earth. Part of a suspected SpaceX Dragon capsule was found in North Carolina last month. Similar pieces were found in Australia in 2022.

Astronomer Samantha Lawler says SpaceX needs to be held accountable.

“They could have killed people. They could have killed people in Saskatchewan,” she said.

“What if it had fallen on Regina? What if it had fallen on Barry Sawchuk’s house? It absolutely would have killed people.”

Several astronomers, including Lawler, are calling for tougher regulations on private space companies that would limit the amount of stuff they can launch into space.

Under the Outer Space Treaty, space junk has to be returned to the country of origin, which would also be responsible for any damages.

Because the treaty deals with governments, it is unclear exactly how it applies to private companies and private property.

“This is a really grey area. It has not been well tested,” Lawler said.

“But with SpaceX and other companies dropping more and more pieces of garbage on the ground, this will be tested in the future.”

Lawler believes there is likely more debris near Ituna that hasn’t been found yet. It could even show up several hundreds of kilometres away, she said.

There was no known damage to any of the Saskatchewan farmers’ land, but Sawchuk did receive some compensation. He said he plans to donate the money to the new community rink.