What's in the photos? Space debris from a Russian rocket burning up upon reentry
When were they taken? April 27, 2026
NASA's Chris Williams, who lived and worked on the ISS between November 2025 and July 2026, captured the eye-catching images from the station's cupola — a large, roughly dome-shaped series of windows that constantly points down at our planet — and later shared them on the social media platform X.
Williams initially peered down at Earth to catch a glimpse of the Russian cargo spacecraft Progress 95, which successfully delivered essential supplies and additional equipment to the ISS later the same day. Instead, he saw what he believed was "some piece of orbital debris or a satellite breaking up as it entered the atmosphere."
The Soyuz rocket launched the cargo spacecraft Progress 95, which later docked with the ISS. (This photo shows the Progress 46 mission docking with the station in 2011.) (Image credit: NASA/ESA)
Shortly after deploying the resupply shuttle into low Earth orbit, the rocket's fairings and booster fell back toward our planet as expected, breaking apart into smaller pieces that were superheated and later vaporized by intense friction as they hit the upper atmosphere, according to Space.com. A very similar fireball was seen above Australia in August 2023, when another Soyuz rocket reentered the atmosphere.
Historically, the only fireballs visible in Earth's skies have been those caused by meteors, which can similarly break apart in flames. We were recently reminded of this when fireballs were spotted above the U.S. this spring, including one space rock that exploded with a massive sonic boom over Ohio and another that crashed through the roof of a house in Houston. (A NASA statement said the fireball Williams witnessed also may have been caused by meteor activity but was more likely to be the Soyuz rocket.)
Williams' photographs show how the remains of the Soyuz rocket exploded in a bright flash before stretching out into a train of flaming debris. (Image credit: NASA/Chris Williams)
Most spacecraft and large pieces of space junk burn up around 50 miles (80 kilometers) above Earth's surface — just below the imaginary boundary with space, known as the Kármán line. While this may lead to visually stunning spectacles like the one Williams captured, scientists are starting to realize that these fireballs may be having a bigger impact on the upper atmosphere than they previously expected.
Additionally, as the number of falling spacecraft rises, the chances that debris may fall to Earth's surface — after failing to properly burn up upon reentry — also increase. This came to the fore in March 2024, when the remains of a 3-ton battery pack that was discarded from the ISS crashed into a family home in Florida.
See more Earth from space
American astronaut's haunting 9/11 snap
During the Sept. 11 attacks, NASA astronaut Frank Culbertson — the only American not on Earth at the time — snapped a "sobering" shot of smoke pouring across New York City as the second tower fell.
Twin cyclones stare out into space
A 2016 satellite photo shows Hurricane Madeline and Hurricane Lester heading straight toward Hawaii. When viewed from above, the twin cyclones and the surrounding clouds look eerily like a giant smiley face.
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