"You need to come pick this up."On the British islands of Turks and Caicos, residents and tourists have been left to deal with the aftermath of SpaceX's Starship explosion, which rained down debris onto the archipelago last month.In interviews withCNN, folks living on and visiting the 40-island nation, eight of which are inhabited, described their shock at finding bits of spacecraft near their homes and businesses."I just never have seen colors like that in the sky," Lori Kaine, a resident of Turks and Caicos' main island Providenciales, told the broadcaster. "At first, I thought it was an actual plane that had exploded."As photos and videos from the January 16 incident show, the colors from Starship's upper stage explosion as it reentered the atmosphere during twilight were indeed spectacular that is, until the detritus from the disaster made ground fall.According to Kaine, the sounds made from the falling debris were incredibly loud, and she could hear a resounding boom from inside with all her doors and windows shut. The next morning, she took stock of the scene and found a fallen wire in her driveway, hexagonal tiles on the road where she walks her dogs, and various other pieces of refuse on the beach near her house."Im like, 'OK, this is crazy,'" the Providenciales resident said, "because [the debris was] on the inner roads of the island and over on the beach."Though this definitely isn't the first time Starship prototypes have exploded during tests or left behind pieces of scrap, the January 16 incident stands out because some of the wreckage from the upper stage landed on a populated area far from the launch.In a statement to CNN, the Federal Aviation Administration maintains that Turks and Caicos was informed that it was located within a potential "hazard area," though residents say that communication about those warnings was minimal. Prior to the launch, the FAA claims, SpaceX was required to "ensure that the probability of casualty to a member of the public on land or on board a maritime vessel does not exceed one in one million."Luckily, there were no injuries from the Starship explosion on the territorial islands, and the FAA says it's working on confirming reports of property damage. Still, those who witnessed the aftermath are less than thrilled about the mess or the lack of follow-through regarding its removal."Im into the launches and what Musk is doing," Amos Lucker, the owner of a Providenciales car rental service, told CNN, "but I think he should be liable for the cleanup, too."After the test flight explosion, SpaceX implored people to report debris and not to touch or pick up any pieces because they may be hazardous. According to Kaine, the Providenciales resident, that statement didn't make its way to her until after she'd already begun cleaning up fragments.Attempting to do the right thing, the woman called SpaceX's hotline to report what she'd found. The company took a week to respond,she says, ultimately saying that it would be days before anyone could come check it out and as of CNN's press time, Kaine still had more than 200 pounds of Starship pieces stored in her garage."You need to come pick this up," the Turks and Caicos resident implored of SpaceX. "And my concern has grown on a larger level about these launches, because now that Im reading about it theres such limited information out there."Share This Article