A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off carrying 53 Starlink internet satellites, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, US on May 18, 2022. The lights were caused due to the re-entry of parts of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into the Earth's atmosphere, a spokesman for the command said. — Reuters
ESSEN, Germany: Mysterious flashing lights in the sky caused alarm across Germany on Tuesday night, with authorities confirming that a rocket used by US space company SpaceX was the cause.
Germany's Space Component Command, a branch of the German Air Force, said on Wednesday that there was no evidence that debris fell over Germany.
The lights were caused due to the re-entry of parts of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into the Earth's atmosphere, a spokesman for the command said.
The rocket was launched from the United States on Feb 1.
Numerous residents called German police to report unusual lights in the sky shortly after midnight.
Germany's UFO reporting agency, CENAP, said it recorded some 120 calls early on Wednesday.
A man from Lichtenfels in the western state of Hesse told the hr3 radio station that he was fertilizing his field when he saw the lights.
"Something split up, there were glowing stripes in white, red and orange, and then it slowly disappeared into the horizon. It was somehow phenomenal," he said. "It looked more like a science fiction film – as if aliens were landing."
SpaceX, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, has carried out several launches from Florida for its Starlink satellite internet provider in recent weeks, including on Tuesday night.
While the first stage of the rocket is reusable, the second stage burns up when it re-enters the atmosphere, sometimes weeks after the launch.
The space command spokesman said the rockets can burn up in the sky across the planet, with the part that caused alarm on Tuesday night having re-entered the atmosphere somewhere over Great Britain or Northern Ireland. – dpa
