MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida woman is showing off a space souvenir that she claims to have found while on vacation in Turks and Caicos.

Speaking with 7News on Thursday, Elena Zavet said she was celebrating a friend’s birthday when she heard SpaceX’s starship rocket explode as it passed over her.

“First, we heard the sound, so we weren’t sure what was happening. We looked up in the sky, and we saw what we thought was a meteor shower, and it’s nothing we’ve ever seen before or experienced,” she said.

The rocket broke apart while in flight after it launched in Texas last week for a test flight, creating a light show for space watchers on the ground.

Zavet said she and her husband saw the light show up above.

“It made its way across the sky, literally was rising from behind our house, went over the sky and landed right in front of us in the water, and as it was coming down, it was already fading,” said Zavet.

Zavet said they found two pieces of the rocket as the debris began washing ashore.

“We had to pick them up. We weren’t sure what to do with them, but we knew it was very special,” said Zavet.

She said they were frightened, yet also in awe of what was in the sky.

“So we all made big wishes when we saw what we thought was a star shower. Um, it was very wild,” said Zavet.

Zavet showed off the two pieces the couple held onto.

She said one of them felt like Styrofoam, while another was part of the spacecraft’s heat shield.

During the interview, she handled the pieces with gloves and recalled her dad telling her to be cautious.

“He said, ‘Listen, it could be quite toxic, be careful.’ He didn’t think it had radiation at that point,” said Zavet.

The souvenirs are now at Zavet’s home in Miami Beach after the couple’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“Just being witness to this explosion and actually receiving debris, it kind of makes you question a lot of things, too. Like is this safe?” said Zavet.

She said that when she and her husband posted their find on the social media platform X, people immediately tried to buy it off of them, but for now, they want to keep the relics that fell from the sky.

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