SpaceX has recovered private debris that fell on farmland in Saskatchewan. On Tuesday, two employees of the airline owned by billionaire Elon Musk went to a farm near the town of Ituna to collect debris.
These pieces were part of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that returned to Earth in February with four passengers from the International Space Station.
Farmer Barry Sawchuk says SpaceX contacted him a few weeks ago to collect debris that ended up on his land.
They are trying to understand why the debris does not burn up in the atmosphere as it comes back down
He says.
Barry Sawchuk says five other nearby farmers found eight space debris on their land.
The airline took possession of the space pieces and offered financial compensation to Mr. Sawchuk. He did not want to reveal the amount amid the agreement, but said he was satisfied with the amount he received.
He says this money will be used to build an ice skating rink in his community.
We got something for the Ituna rink and that's what it's always been about
supports farms.
Barry Sawchuk (second from right) says five other nearby farmers found eight space debris on their land.
Photo: Radio-Canada/Laura Ciarpletti
On Tuesday, two SpaceX employees arrived near Ituna in a U-Haul vehicle to collect equipment. They did not want to share their names or speak with members of the media who were there.
Samantha Lawler, an astronomy professor at the University of Regina, was at the farm when the two employees arrived.
She believes that SpaceX should be transparent about the impact of its activities on the atmosphere and how to deal with this type of incident.
I was hoping they would tell us more about why they were here and what they would do with the coins
says Ms. Lawler. SpaceX does nothing to educate the general public about how the sky will change everyone in the world
she added.
Radio-Canada/CBC has contacted SpaceX several times, and the company has not responded to our interview requests.
With information from Laura Ciarpelletti, Aishwarya Dudha and The Canadian Press
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