Australia space agency has found 'likely source' of mystery space balls
12 hours ago
- #hazardous materials
- #space debris
- #Australia
- The Australian Space Agency identified the likely source of mysterious space balls found on Forrest Beach in northern Queensland as pressure vessels from a space launch vehicle.
- A 50-meter exclusion zone was established, and the public was warned not to touch any suspicious objects due to potential hazardous substances, with emergency services called for any encounters.
- Crews in protective suits placed the spheres in hazmat barrels under police guard amid concerns they might contain flammable or reactive materials like residual propellant.
- The objects' location and characteristics align with debris from a foreign rocket body that recently re-entered the atmosphere from orbit, according to the ASA's statement.
- Similar incidents have occurred before, such as a metal dome from an Indian rocket washing up in Western Australia in 2023 and a spherical object found in Namibia in 2011, likely from unmanned rockets.