SpaceX rocket splashes down off Christmas Island

A large space rocket belonging to Elon Musk's SpaceX is being towed to the shores of Christmas Island after landing in the Indian Ocean, in an unusual spectacle for locals.

People on the remote Australian territory have lined up in droves along the rugged coastline to watch the rocket being towed by two large boats.

Christmas Island Tourism Association chair David Watchorn said it was "incredible" to see the spaceship up close.

"We'd heard some rumours that [SpaceX] might be coming to Christmas Island … and it was just there, huge," he said.

"The boats out were super excited, you could see quite a number of vessels being launched off the boat around this morning to go and have a look."

Mr Watchorn said an exclusion zone was in place so vessels could not venture too close to the debris.

Hospitality owner Rachel Kucera said locals had flocked to her cafe today to see the space shuttle float past.

"Everyone's been pretty fascinated by it I think, I don't think it's anything that we were ever expecting."

Christmas Island-based photographer Chris Bray, who usually focuses on wildlife, said the sight of the ships towing the rocket had become "the talk of the town".

"The island got a bit excited trying to work out what they were going to do," he said.

"At the moment it's just kind of hanging around off the sheltered side of the island and everyone's driving along to little vantage points to try and get a view of it."

US tech billionaire Musk's Starship Ship 40 was launched on July 24 from Texas, and after a successful mission re-entered the atmosphere and landed in the Indian Ocean far off the coast of Western Australia.

Mr Musk publicly confirmed last week an effort was underway to retrieve it.

A spokesperson for the Australian Space Agency said the Australian government was coordinating with SpaceX to recover the Starship.

"SpaceX has towed the vehicle to Christmas Island after it re-entered and landed in international waters," the spokesperson said.

"Questions regarding Starship recovery operations and any future plans for Starship's return to the United States should be directed to SpaceX."

The company has been contacted for comment.

Space junk common

The space junk discovery off Christmas Island comes after a four-tonne abandoned upper stage of a Space X Rocket crashed into the moon two weeks ago, creating a visible crater and thrusting the issue of space junk into the public discourse.

There have been several space junk incidents in Australia over the past few years. Most recently, several metallic "space balls" were discovered on a north Queensland beach in July, which the Australian Space Agency confirmed were likely from a space launch vessel.

In October last year, space junk believed to be from a Chinese rocket was found near a mine site in Newman in WA's north.

Two years before that, space junk also washed up on a beach at Green Head, roughly 250 kilometres north of Perth.

Objects launched into space have skyrocketed in recent years, with 4,510 launches in 2025, compared to 586 in 2019, according United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs data.

Most objects by far were launched by the United States, China was in second place, and Russia in third.