NASA has confirmed that pieces of debris found throughout the mountains of North Carolina are the remnants of SpaceX Crew Dragon hardware that reentered the atmosphere in May 2024.
The largest piece of debris was found along a walking trail of a mountaintop resort on May 22; it was about the size of a standard car hood and covered in a carbon fiber weave. In the weeks following that discovery, several smaller pieces were found in residents' yards throughout the region as well. A map posted to X by astronomer Jonathan McDowell that plotted the reentry of the SpaceX Crew-7 mission's "trunk," or service module, suggested this particular Crew Dragon hardware was likely responsible for the mess. However, it wasn't until June 20, 2024 that NASA confirmed the debris indeed came from a Crew Dragon spacecraft.
"SpaceX has confirmed the re-entry of Dragon spacecraft trunk hardware to NASA following its service missions to the International Space Station," a statement emailed to Western North Carolina journalist Justin Berger said.
