Oct. 14 (UPI) — A West Texas woman who spotted a large parachute in the sky discovered the object that landed on her family’s farm was a piece of NASA equipment that had been blown off-course.
Ann Vincent Walter said her son, Hayden, was the first to spot what initially appeared to be a weather balloon over the family’s farm in Hale County, north of Lubbock.
The family discovered when the object touched down on their property that it wasn’t a weather balloon at all, but a large and mysterious piece of equipment attached to a parachute.
Walter contacted the Hale County Sheriff’s Office, where officials had also been called by NASA about a piece of missing equipment.
A NASA researcher spoke with Walter and explained the equipment had been launched from Fort Sumner, N.M., but had been blown off-course by strong winds.
The equipment had been launched by the Columbia Scientific Balloon Team as part of a series of experiments aimed at helping to aid the accuracy of telescopes.
Walter said she called her work to ask if she could come in late while researchers retrieved the equipment.
“They gladly let me go so I could see the equipment and experience this once-in-a-lifetime situation,” Walter wrote in a Facebook post. “What a cool memory and experience.”