Last Wednesday, before 5 a.m., a SpaceX Falcon 9 R/B rocket stage entered the atmosphere in an uncontrolled manner over Poland. That same day, unidentified objects were found in several places in the country, believed to be parts of the Falcon 9. SpaceX announced in a statement on Saturday that it was cooperating with the Polish government on the recovery of the rocket debris, and that the reason for the fall in Poland was a failure during the rocket deorbitation.

PSPA points out that the actions that should be taken in the future in the event of such threats should include: establishing contact with the owner of the deorbiting object, who usually has more detailed data on the expected fall trajectory; analysis of the risk to air, road, rail and sea traffic, and defining actions to minimize the threat; notifying the services and the public about the possibility of such an event - what it might look like and what to do if debris is found.

'Lack of knowledge can lead to unnecessary panic and burden the emergency services', the Association emphasises in the issued statement.

PSPA emphasises that it is observing the ongoing media debate on the debris found in Poland with concern. In the opinion of the organization, it leads to 'mutual antagonism of institutions responsible for national security'.

The Association representatives point out that, in accordance with international conventions, the responsibility for the event lies with the country that launched the object - in this case, the United States. 'However, in an ideal situation, the owner of the object (SpaceX) should inform the states about potential fall locations and update forecasts', we read in the statement. PSPA representatives add that this cannot always and not fully be counted on, which is why it is necessary to conduct independent monitoring and implement appropriate procedures at the national level.

In Poland, this is handled by the Polish Space Agency (POLSA), which is a member of international networks that monitor space objects and conducts appropriate analyses.

The fall of Falcon 9 debris sparked a discussion on the communication of such cases between state institutions. POLSA assured that it had already informed about the predicted entry of Falcon 9 rocket elements into the atmosphere on February 13 this year in a weekly report, which reached all interested parties.

Deputy Prime Minister, head of the Ministry of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, on the other hand, assessed on TVN24 that 'there was a communication problem' because POLSA did not effectively pass on this information to the ministry. Kosiniak-Kamysz explained that the message was sent to an email address of one of the departments that has been out of date for 6 months.

After this, Minister of Development and Technology Krzysztof Paszyk called on the agency to immediately develop new communication procedures and respond appropriately. Paszyk also discussed the situation with the President of the Polish Space Agency Grzegorz Wrochna.

According to the PSPA, there are currently over 15 thousand objects in Earth's orbit classified as remnants of space missions, or so-called space debris. 'Every day, five of them re-enter the atmosphere, with most of them burning up without reaching the Earth's surface. Situations in which debris falls to Earth are extremely rare', the organization points out.

The PSPA declares its readiness to help develop appropriate procedures in the event of further incidents with 'space debris': 'We remain at the disposal of the relevant institutions, including the Ministry of Development and Technology, the Ministry of National Defence and the Polish Space Agency'.

The Polish Space Professionals Association (PSPA) was officially registered in 2016. As we read on the PSPA website, the Association is involved in building a network of contacts between Polish professionals working in the domestic and foreign space sectors. It also works on projects aimed at promoting the industry and developing staff in the space sector. (PAP)

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