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Jul 09, 2023

Australian Space Agency reveals origins of mysterious space debris

Australia Space Agency/X By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Policies You may unsubscribe at any time. Weeks after speculation over a large chunk of space debris that washed up on a

Australia Space Agency/X

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Weeks after speculation over a large chunk of space debris that washed up on a remote West Australian beach, the Australian Space Agency has revealed that it belonged to an Indian launch vehicle.

The Indian Space Research Organization - the national space agency of India, has confirmed as much to the BBC.

The giant metal object was found at Green Head Beach on July 15, with Australian authorities scratching their heads over its origins.

The Australian Space Agency (ASA) tweeted yesterday that the object was "most likely debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The PSLV is a medium-lift launch vehicle operated by ISRO.”

We have concluded the object located on a beach near Jurien Bay in Western Australia is most likely debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The PSLV is a medium-lift launch vehicle operated by @isro. [More in comments] pic.twitter.com/ivF9Je1Qqy

At roughly 2.5 meters wide and approximately 3 meters long, ISRO says that the third stage is a “solid rocket motor that provides the upper stages high thrust after the atmospheric phase of the launch.”

According to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, countries must return any "foreign" space objects found in their territory to the owners. BBC spoke to ISRO’s spokesperson Sudhir Kumar who said it is now up to Australia to decide what it wants to do with the object.

ASA further said in its tweet, “The debris remains in storage, and the Australian Space Agency is working with ISRO, who will provide further confirmation to determine next steps, including considering obligations under the United Nations space treaties.”

Space archaeologist and Associate Professor at Australia's Flinders University, Dr. Alice Gorman, told BBC that although there are many reasons why a country would want debris from one of its space shuttles back, like mission analysis, however, there are no benefits in India retrieving the object.

European Space Agency engineer Andrea Boyd had previously said that the part would likely have been designed to fall back down to Earth.

"It takes a lot of effort to get up to orbit, so the first and second and third stage [engines] usually fall off and end up in the Indian Ocean, so it's probably come from that with the currents and washed up on the beach," said Boyd, as earlier reported by Interesting Engineering.