Falling space junk

Rubbish threat: Last year, the US Space Force issued alerts for nearly 820 objects entering the Earth’s atmosphere. The US government issued alerts for 110 objects a decade ago. — Agencies

ONE December afternoon, the sky tore open and a fiery hunk of metal, wider than a school bus, came hurtling down.

It was louder than a thunderclap when it plunged into a patch of farmland, startling everyone in the village of Mukuku, about three hours south of Nairobi, Kenya.