Polish space authorities are investigating the origin of an unidentified object that crash-landed near the city of Poznan, with some suspecting the object is debris from SpaceX’s Falcon rocket.

Spectators early Wednesday recorded strange flashes across the sky. The Polish Space Agency later confirmed that the flares were debris from SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicles burning in Polish airspace.

“The rocket stage, weighing approximately four tonnes, came from the SpaceX Starlink Group 11-4 mission, which took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on 1 February 2025,” the agency wrote. “The flight trajectory of this object was known to POLSA and the services responsible in Europe for monitoring the risk of artificial space objects entering the Earth’s atmosphere.”

The Falcon rocket carried 22 Starlink satellites into orbit.

Later that morning, Poznan city officials told the Polish press that a large unidentified object crashed onto a business property in the area. Authorities said the object was around 5 feet long and looked like a container wrapped in foil.

POLSA said it’s in contact with investigators on the ground and will communicate with SpaceX to confirm if the object is from the Falcon.

“POLSA is in constant contact with the police. We already have photos of the object that fell near Poznan,” the agency said. “The POLSA Space Security Department will verify the object with SpaceX.”

No civilians were injured by the object, according to authorities. Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz asserted that the object isn’t a threat to national security and that the proper authorities are investigating its origins.

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.