Under international law, the country that launched an object into space is liable for any damage it causes to the ground.
What makes the debris in Minnesota unusual is its size– it is larger than most objects that survive reentry– and the fact that it probably came from a rocket that fell from space on the same day it launched. The upper stage of the Zhuque-2E rocket is 11 feet, or 3.35 meters, in diameter, perfectly matching the size of the object found in Minnesota.
A Zhuque-2E rocket carrying ten network satellites lifts off from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone in northwest China, Sept. 15, 2026.
Photo credit: Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua via Getty Images
A Zhuque-2E rocket carrying ten network satellites lifts off from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Pilot Zone in northwest China, Sept. 15, 2026.
Photo credit: Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua via Getty Images
The Zhuque-2E rocket, which launched from China on September 15, deployed 10 satellites for the Qianfan communications network (Thousand Sails), a Chinese counterpart to SpaceX’s Starlink constellation. China has launched 258 Qianfan satellites in a series of missions since 2024 and is on track to complete an initial constellation of 1,296 satellites, with longer-term goals of more than 15,000.
The methane-fueled rocket sent the 10 Qianfan satellites into a circular polar orbit at an altitude of about 560 miles (900 kilometers) about half an hour after launch. The rocket flew south from China, over Antarctica and then north over America. After deploying the payloads, Zhuque’s upper stage performed an ignition to slow its speed and fall from orbit.
Typically, it’s a good thing to remove a spent rocket stage from orbit after its mission ends, a responsible practice aimed at limiting the creation of new space debris. Chinese rockets have been a problem in the area before, with unguided re-entries and bursts in low Earth orbit. U.S. rockets on missions in low Earth orbit typically have enough fuel for controlled disposal.
The upper stage of the Zhuque-2E rocket’s previous flight in June broke apart after completing its mission, leaving dozens of pieces of debris in a busy part of low-Earth orbit that is home to the International Space Station and a significant portion of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network. The good news is that the rocket’s altitude was low enough to ensure that most of the debris would re-enter the atmosphere within a few months.
LandSpace, the company that owns the Zhuque family of rockets, has not publicly acknowledged the debris impact over Minnesota. The usual practice for rocket disposal is to direct them toward re-entry over the ocean, suggesting that the September 15 incident may have been the result of a botched de-orbit ejection.
