Ann Walters and her family own the farm in Hale County, north of Lubbock. She said NASA had been looking for the equipment after the Texas wind blew it off course.
HALE COUNTY, Texas — A family in West Texas was shocked when they say a giant object attached to a parachute landed on their Hale County farm, north of Lubbock.
“An exciting day on the farm here!” Ann Vincent Walter wrote on Facebook.
She said her son, Hayden, ran into the house yelling, “Hurry and come here!”
“I was like, ‘OMG, what?'” Ann posted.
They originally thought it was a weather balloon flying overhead, but when they found it on their property, they weren’t sure what the heck it was.
Ann called the Hale County Sheriff’s Department to report it. It turned out the sheriff had also been contacted by NASA because they’d been looking for the wayward equipment.
“I was blown away by the comment,” Ann said.
She said a researcher working for NASA called and told her that the tool was launched from Fort Sumner, New Mexico, but the West Texas wind blew it off course. He explained that he’s with the Columbia Scientific Balloon Team and they launch, track and recover experiments for NASA and universities around the world. He said this tool helps guide telescopes to more accurately and clearly capture the stars, galaxies and black holes.
“He was very nice and educational,” Ann wrote.
After her husband dropped a pin to help the researcher locate the equipment on their land, Ann called her boss to ask if she could come in late.
“They gladly let me go so I could see the equipment and experience this once-in-a-lifetime situation,” she said. “What a cool memory and experience.”
The excited family posed for pictures next to the equipment before a crew showed up to retrieve it. Ann said it took them a few hours to move it off the farm.