A section of SpaceX's Starship rocket, launched from Texas on 24 July during the vehicle's 13th test flight, has been towed to waters off Christmas Island (a remote Australian territory roughly 1,550km off Western Australia's coast) after re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX engineers have been dispatched to assess the largely intact 52-metre upper stage before attempting to return it to the company's Texas launch facility, with an exclusion zone in place around the vessel. Locals have welcomed the unexpected spectacle, with Christmas Island's tourism association expressing hope that the global attention could draw visitors to the island's distinctive landscapes and wildlife, even as space archaeologists warn that the rapid growth in satellite launches is producing increasing amounts of potentially hazardous orbital debris falling back to Earth.