Newman: Space junk burns, crash-lands at mine site in WA’s Pilbara region
A burning ball of space junk was found at a mining site in Washington’s Pilbara region.
Emergency services were alerted to the scene after mine site workers found a “burning object” near the remote access road at Newman (about 455km south of Port Hedland) at around 2pm on Saturday.
Police said initial assessments showed the debris was made of carbon fiber and may have been “a composite-wrapped pressure vessel or rocket tank consistent with aerospace components.”
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau concluded that the object did not originate from a commercial aircraft.
“Although the object’s characteristics are consistent with known space re-entry debris, the object remains under investigation,” a police spokesman said.
“Further technical assessment will be carried out by Australian Space Agency engineers to help determine its nature and source.
“The object has been secured and there is no current threat to public safety.”
Photos of the wreckage show a black, dome-shaped object with flames flickering from its center.
Police continue to work with the mine operator, the Australian Space Agency, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and other relevant stakeholders to investigate the origin of the object.
The Australian Space Agency has been contacted for comment.
This comes more than two years after space debris from a satellite launch vehicle was found on Green Head beach, about 250 km north of Perth, in July 2023.
The Australian Space Agency confirmed that the debris came from the extended third stage of a polar satellite vehicle operated by the Indian Space Research Organization.
This wreckage remained stranded on the beach for six months, with ISRO refusing to take it on, before it was transported to Scitech in Perth.
Science Minister Stephen Dawson said the debris was allowed to remain in Perth following talks between Australian and Indian space authorities.
It appears that Indian space explorers are not interested in retrieving the debris because it is too expensive to transport it back to the subcontinent.
Communities around Green Head hoped that the work would remain a local tourist attraction, but the Government ultimately decided that Scitech was the best location.
“We hope that as many Western Australians as possible can see it, understand it, learn about its journey and that interest in science will be sparked as a result,” Mr Dawson said.
