Falcon 9 upper stage reentry over Poland
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
A Falcon 9 second stage that could not perform its deorbit burn reentered uncontrolled on 19 February 2025, dropping fragments in Poland. A lidar in Germany recorded a roughly 10-fold lithium spike in the upper atmosphere about 20 hours after a reentry of the same stage.
As stated in the reports reviewed.
Status As of the latest sources reviewed (study listed 2026): fragments recovered in Poland; no claim, ruling or operator statement found.
What happened
A Falcon 9 second stage (Starlink 11-4, launched 1 February 2025) suffered a propellant leak that prevented its deorbit burn. It reentered uncontrolled on 19 February 2025.
The Polish Space Agency (POLSA) recorded the reentry over Poland between 04:46 and 04:48 on 19 February 2025. Fragments were found at Komorniki (a tank about 1.5 × 1 m behind a warehouse), Wiry, Śliwno and Szamotuły, and later at Łowyń.
A study first circulated as a preprint in 2025 and listed as Communications Earth & Environment 7:161 (2026) reported the first ground-based detection of a reentry plume. About 20 hours after the stage reentered west of Ireland, a lidar at Kühlungsborn, Germany, recorded a roughly 10-fold lithium spike at about 96 km altitude.
The reports state that one upper stage holds about 30 kg of lithium, against a natural meteoric lithium input of about 80 g per day worldwide.
- 2025Starlink 11-4 launched on a Falcon 9 (1 February); propellant leak prevents deorbit burn; uncontrolled reentry (19 February) with debris found in Poland; lidar at Kühlungsborn records lithium spike about 20 hours later
- 2026Lithium-plume study listed as Communications Earth & Environment 7:161
How it looked
Shown
Recorded
- POLSA recorded the reentry over Poland on 19 February 2025 between 04:46 and 04:48; fragments were found at Komorniki, Wiry, Śliwno, Szamotuły and later Łowyń.
- A lidar at Kühlungsborn recorded a roughly 10-fold lithium spike at about 96 km about 20 hours after the stage reentered west of Ireland.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Record
- None on record Ecological effects of the lithium plume: the sources reviewed report the detection but no assessment of effects.
- None on record Operator response and any claim, ruling or liability finding: none found in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
The sources reviewed do not say whether practice changed after the reentry.
Who paid?
Not on record: no cost or claim is stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Press and investigations
- SpaceX rocket stage burns up over Europe and crashes in PolandSmithsonian Magazine · 2025-02
- Rocket re-entry pollutes the upper atmospherePhysics World · 2025
Researchers
Connected cases
- Starbase launch site, Boca Chica, Texas: environmental review, penalties and Starship debris United States · 2022–2025
- SpaceX (Company) — here: Launch operator of the Falcon 9 stage; there: Launch operator and site owner
- Starship debris from two 2025 test flights lands in Turks and Caicos Turks and Caicos Islands · 2025
- SpaceX (Company) — here: Launch operator of the Falcon 9 stage; there: Operator of the Starship flights; ship lost on Flight 7, exploded on Flight 8