Coast Guard monitors rocket debris field

Falcon 9 exploded after take-off

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The Coast Guard is working in close coordination with SpaceX and partner agencies to monitor the Falcon 9 debris field currently located more than 150 miles off the Florida-Georgia coast.

The Coast Guard is cautioning vessels transiting that area and asking the public to report any sightings of debris that may wash ashore. 

Currently, no impacts from debris are expected for Florida beaches, and authorities will continue to monitor for any changes to this estimate.

"As with any incident involving spacecraft wreckage, debris should not be handled by members of the public," said Capt. Jeffrey Dixon, commander Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville.  "These critical pieces of evidence are important in the investigation process and should be reported immediately to SpaceX or the U.S. Coast Guard."

An unmanned rocket by Elon Musk's SpaceX on a resupply mission to the International Space Station exploded Sunday just minutes after launch.

It wasn't clear what caused the rocket, named Dragon, to fail. SpaceX will conduct an investigation overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration.

It was the third resupply mission to fail in recent months. The three astronauts on the space station have about four months worth of supplies, according to NASA.

Sunday's flight was carrying more than 2 tons of goods, including 1,500 pounds of food and provisions for the crew.

More cargo missions are planned this summer, including Russian flights on July 3 and July 22, and a Japanese launch on August 16. The next SpaceX flight is scheduled for September 1.

The SpaceX debris recovery hotline is 1-866-392-0035.