Fireball Spotted in Arizona, Western States ID’d As Russian Rocket Debris

On Tuesday around 6:15 p.m., people across Southern California, Arizona and Nevada reported seeing a fireball streak across the night sky, prompting speculation over what the source of it was.

They say it was part of the body of an old SL4 rocket.

Matthew Miller with the U.S. Strategic Command’s Joint Space Operations Center, which tracks worldwide space missions for domestic safety.

The U.S. Strategic Command identified Tuesday’s space junk at around midnight from Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska.

“It’s not something people need to worry about”, said David Wright, a space-debris expert.

Dozens of people took to social media to share videos and photos.

Others wondered earlier on Twitter whether the streak of light was from a missile.

The Soyuz-2.1a rocket booster was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on December 21 at 08:44 (GMT). Lindstrom, a bartender with a side business as a videographer, said his first instinct was to grab his cellphone camera. The military has yet to confirm any missile tests. Others raised suspicion on the government’s comments regarding the sighting.