NASA has confirmed that pieces of debris found throughout the North Carolina mountains are the remains of SpaceX Crew Dragon hardware that re-entered the atmosphere in May 2024.
The largest piece of debris was found on May 22 along a mountain resort hiking trail; it was about the size of a standard car hood and covered with a weave of carbon fiber. In the weeks following that discovery, several smaller pieces were also found in residents’ yards across the region. A map posted by astronomer Jonathan McDowell on However, it was not until June 20, 2024 that NASA confirmed that the debris did indeed come from a Crew Dragon spacecraft.
“SpaceX has confirmed the return of Dragon spacecraft hardware to NASA following its servicing missions to the International Space Station,” said an emailed statement to Western North Carolina journalist Justin Berger.
The trunk, as SpaceX calls it, is a depressurized area at the back of its Dragon spacecraft that has fins for aerodynamic control during emergency aborts, can carry cargo or small satellites, and is equipped with solar panels that provide power to the spacecraft when it flies or is docked at the International Space Station.
Related: Space debris from the SpaceX Dragon capsule crashed in the mountains of North Carolina. I had to go see it (video)
NASA’s statement confirming the source of the debris indicated that the tribe’s return over North Carolina was not the only recent example of a Dragon Tribe surviving its fiery reentry through Earth’s atmosphere.
“Recently, trunks supporting SpaceX’s 30th commercial resupply and Crew-7 missions re-entered over Saudi Arabia and North Carolina, respectively,” the statement continued.
According to NASA’s statement, the Crew Dragon case was predicted to burn completely upon re-entry, but this and several other recent debris dumps indicate that this is clearly not the case.
“NASA and SpaceX will continue to explore additional solutions as we learn from the discovered debris,” the statement added.
There have been a few other pieces of other similar looking debris found in recent years that were also believed to be from the SpaceX Dragon return. In May 2024, a large piece of debris was found in a farmer’s field in Saskatchewan, Canada, and before that, another fell in August 2022 in the Australian outback. “NASA is not aware of any structural damage or injuries resulting from these findings,” the agency wrote.
Note that NASA is currently facing a claim for financial compensation regarding ISS-specific space debris that crashed into a family’s home in Florida. That space junk wasn’t associated with SpaceX hardware, but rather with a battery pack thrown from the ISS that was originally supposed to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere; The family is asking the agency to pay compensation. The outcome of this could also influence how both public and private space companies manage future space debris incidents.