Part of the SpaceX Rocket That Burned Up Above Portland Was Found by a Farmer in Eastern Washington

The company has not confirmed its rocket was responsible for the great light show last week, but the Grant County sheriff said SpaceX had “recovered” the debris.

A strange fireball seen over Portland turns out to be one of Elon Musk’s rockets. (Royal_Society/Wiki Commons)

Remember last week, when people from Portland to Seattle reported seeing a brilliant fireball flying across the night sky, creating a social media mystery about what it might be? Many assumed it was a meteor, and at least one Twitter user in the moment thought it was a plane that had caught fire midflight.

It was pretty quickly surmised to be a rocket belonging to Elon Musk and his SpaceX company, which had delivered satellites to orbit earlier in March then burned up upon reentry to Earth's atmosphere.

But that led to another obvious question: Where would all that Musk junk end up? We now know the answer: on a farm in Eastern Washington.

Officials in Grant County said a 5-foot-long "composite-overwrapped pressure vessel" was retrieved from a private field in Ephrata, Wash. It was discovered by the property owner, who wished to remain anonymous.

"Media and treasure hunters: we are not disclosing specifics," the Grant County Sheriff's Office tweeted, along with a picture of the object, which is used for storing helium. "The property owner simply wants to be left alone."

SpaceX does not appear to have publicly confirmed its rocket was responsible for the great light show, but the sheriff said the corporation had "recovered" the debris.

Related: In May, A Portland Comic Creator Got In a Twitter Beef With Elon Musk.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.