A large piece of a SpaceX rocket has washed up on a remote island off the coast of England, and officials think it's from the Falcon 9 rocket that exploded shortly after taking off from the Space Coast in June.

The debris -- encrusted in barnacles and showing a U.S. flag and the words "Falcon 9" -- was pulled out of the water off the Isles of Scilly, off the southwestern tip of Great Britain. One piece was 32 feet by 13 feet.

Officials think it's from the unmanned Falcon 9 rocket that exploded over Cape Canaveral on June 28.

"Once we got it ashore with the help of another vessel, (the coast guard) scraped some of the goose barnacles off, and it just so happened the first place they scraped, they found the (U.S.) flag," said Joseph Thomas, a boat captain who spotted the debris, told CNN.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that launched in June was carrying more than two tons of cargo to the International Space Station when it blew up. Officials think it was caused by a problem inside the booster's upper stage.


SpaceX rocket debris was found near the Isles of Scilly off the coast of England. (Screen grab from CNN)