July 18, 2023, 9:20 AM
July 18, 2023, 9:20 AM
a metallic cylinder washed up on a remote Australian beach and the country’s space agency suggested they could be debris from a space rocket launch.
The object It’s about the size of a small car.: It is two meters tall with wires hanging from the top.
recently appeared near Jurien Bay, a coastal region two hours north of the state capital, Perth.
The Australian Space Agency said it is investigating whether the cylinder may be part of a “foreign space launch vehicle that has washed up on shore”.
‘Could be part of the Indian satellite’
“The object could be from a foreign space launch vehicle and we are in contact with global counterparts who could provide more information,” the agency tweeted.
Authorities are also investigating the possibility that the unknown object fell from an Indian rocket during a satellite launch.
“We’re pretty sure, based on the shape and size, that it’s an upper stage engine from an Indian rocket that’s used for many different missions,” Andrea Boyd, an engineer with the European Space Agency, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. .
He added that whoever launched the object into space would be responsible for dismantling it.
“There’s a United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and they have an outer space treaty that they’ve all signed that says whoever launches something into space is responsible for it to the end,” Boyd said.
Speculations around a mysterious object
Previously, officials had treated the device as dangerous and urged the public to stay away.
The Western Australia Police It said in a statement Monday that a government chemical analysis had determined the object was safe and that “there is no current risk to the community.”
The Police also rejected versions that appeared on social networks that it could be related to the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 in 2014.
Last year, an Australian sheep farmer discovered a charred piece of debris from one of Elon Musk’s SpaceX missions outside a pasture.
