Six pieces of suspected space debris have been found washed up on beaches in north Queensland, with an expert suggesting they could be 'space balls' left over from rocket launches that may contain toxic rocket fuel. The Australian Space Agency confirmed on Sunday it is working to determine the nature and origin of the objects, which police said were suspected of containing hazardous chemicals.
Reports indicate the objects, discovered on beaches in the Forrest Beach area near Townsville, appear to be large spheres. The Queensland Fire Department stated on Sunday that a total of six objects had been found. Five had been 'secured into drums' and a sixth was being 'rendered safe' on Sunday, a spokesperson said.
Local Business Responds with Humor
A local chip shop, the Forrest Beach Takeaway, has already started selling a 'space junk snack box', with a chalkboard reading: 'unlike some stuff that washes up on our beach, you'll be able to identify these objects.'
Police have assured the public there is 'no danger to the local community and police are not investigating the incident.' A fire department statement noted: 'It is possible more debris will turn up in the area over coming days' and while there is 'currently no danger to the local community', locals should check information provided by the Australian Space Agency. 'The nature of the debris and its origin are still being determined,' the statement added.
Expert Analysis Points to Rocket Fuel Tanks
Associate Professor Alice Gorman, a space archaeologist and space junk expert at Flinders University, reviewed news footage and said the objects did not appear to have evidence of burning or scorching. 'This suggests they might be from a rocket stage – perhaps a first or second stage – that has fallen back to Earth while the rest of the stage goes on to deliver a payload into space,' she said.
'They look to be consistent with what you find as part of a fuel system. They are pressurised fuel vessels made of titanium alloys with a very high melting point. They're actually known as space balls and they can be found years after a launch. It is perhaps not something that anyone would have seen [landing].'
Gorman noted it is also possible the objects might not be from the space industry at all and could be marine in origin. However, if they are space balls, they could contain some remaining hydrazine – a highly toxic rocket fuel. She speculated they could be from a Russian Fregat rocket, which uses similar pressure vessels in its fuel stages.
Space Balls: A Common but Hazardous Type of Space Junk
Space balls – not to be confused with the 1980s American space comedy – are 'the most frequent piece of space junk,' Gorman said, and have been found all over the world. There are estimated to be more than 30,000 pieces of debris – from working satellites to defunct parts from rocket launches – orbiting the planet.
'Space junk most commonly flies in over the sea, but Australia is a very big land mass so we do get a reasonable amount of space junk,' Gorman said. She added that space junk is a growing problem with a sharp increase in space launches. 'We've had more space launches in the last five years than in the whole of history. That means there are more re-entries happening.'
A spokesperson for the Australian Space Agency, which is working with police and the National Emergency Management Agency, confirmed the objects are thought to be space debris. A statement said: 'The Australian Space Agency is supporting local authorities in relation to suspected space debris located at Forrest Beach in North Queensland. The Agency is working to determine the nature of the debris and its origin.'
