OCRACOKE ISLAND, N.C. (AP) — A large sheet of metal found on a North Carolina beach has been identified as debris from a SpaceX rocket.
The National Park Service told The Charlotte Observer that Elon Musk’s rocket building company confirmed the 10-foot by 6-foot (3-meter by 2-meter) debris found Sunday was “rocket hardware.” Chief Ranger Boone Vandzura of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore says “it’s being handled appropriately.”
This isn’t the first time chunks of a SpaceX rocket has been found on an Outer Banks beach. Last October, a 15-foot (4.5-meter) long section of a jettisoned nose cone was found near Hatteras Village.
With Sunday’s Ocracoke Island find, the type of rocket and its launch date wasn’t released.
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The Outer Banks were hit by Hurricane Florence and Tropical Storm Michael, which caused flooding that can wash debris ashore.
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Information from: The Charlotte Observer, http://www.charlotteobserver.com