'Selfie' rocket, not a satellite, falls to Earth, causes ruckus in Mich. county

A "selfie" space rocket fell from the sky Saturday morning in Michigan and landed in Gratiot County, causing a ruckus along with more selfies, but no injuries or property damage.

The Gratiot County Sheriff's Office said it responded to a call about 8:27 a.m at East VanBuren in Layfette Township that a satellite had fallen into a yard.

Around the same time, a report of a white hot air balloon that was tangled in some trees six miles away had come into the sheriff's department.

Police determined the two reports were connected after learning an object called a "Samsung Space Selfie" had been sent into space on Saturday by Raven Aero Star in Sioux City, South Dakota.

The object had been launched from Mobridge, South Dakota, to take photos from space and send them back to Earth. 

"People and/or a group could then do a self photo to replicate being in space," Michael A. Morris, the Gratiot County sheriff, said in a news release.

The object was scheduled to land in Saginaw County, which is east of where it actually crashed. No injuries were reported and no property was damaged.

The road where the balloons had fallen was temporary closed and power was temporary shut down until the balloons were removed, police said.

The sheriff's department said no laws were broken and the case is closed.

jchambers@detroitnews.com