Overview
- Peer-reviewed research in Communications Earth & Environment reports the first direct ground-based detection tying a single rocket re-entry to a lithium plume high above Earth.
- A resonance lidar in northern Germany recorded a roughly tenfold jump in lithium between about 97 and 94 kilometers shortly after 00:20 UTC on February 20, 2025, lasting around 27 minutes.
- Back-trajectory analysis linked the plume to the uncontrolled re-entry of a Falcon 9 upper stage over the Atlantic west of Ireland roughly 20 hours earlier.
- The team concluded natural sources such as meteoric input were highly unlikely and demonstrated that targeted lidar can capture some re-entry emissions before they disperse.
- Experts say effects on ozone and upper-atmosphere climate remain unquantified, and with about 14,000 active satellites plus vast constellation proposals pending, they urge broader monitoring and regulatory attention.