SpaceX Rocket Debris Found In South Carolina Amid Zuma Payload Mystery [Photo]

Debris from a SpaceX Rocket washed ashore North Myrtle Beach in South Carolina on Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed.

The debris was claimed by NASA shortly after the Horry County police and the Coast Guard were called to the scene. The authorities did a quick assessment of the debris found at the scene and concluded that it was indeed from a SpaceX rocket.

Petty Officer 1st Class Luke Clayton said he was alerted about the debris around 3:30 p.m. EST on Friday. A photo of the debris was obtained from the police by ABC affiliate WPDE.

It was not immediately clear as to which SpaceX rocket the debris belonged to. NASA has not released any information regarding the debris.

SpaceX — a company owned by business magnate Elon Musk — is famous for designing, manufacturing, and launching advanced rockets and spacecraft.

It recently made headlines when it launched a government satellite — code-named Zuma — into space. While the details of the launch were made public, the information regarding the satellite was shrouded in mystery.

The launch window for Zuma was set for Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. EST at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida's Brevard County.

According to the initial reports, following the launch, SpaceX was supposed to land the first stage of the rocket back at the Air Force Base.

"The Zuma spacecraft will launch on Falcon 9, a two-stage rocket designed from the ground up by SpaceX for maximum reliability and the cost-efficient transport of satellites and SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft,” a press release from SpaceX said. No other information about the launch was available.

While the mission Sunday evening was a success as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was seen streaking across the Florida sky, by Monday evening, Zuma was presumed to be lost, having either failed to reach its targeted orbit successfully or just not functional in its orbit.

Gwynne Shotwell, the chief operating officer of SpaceX, issued a statement Tuesday putting rumors to rest that satellite had gone missing due to operational errors during its launch. “After reviewing of all data to date, Falcon 9 did everything correctly on Sunday night,” Shotwell said, Time reported.

Due to the classified nature of the project, the company refused to discuss the matter any further.