Experts believe object found on mine site in Western Australia’s Pilbara region is from Chinese rocket launch
“The rocket was launched from a specially converted barge on September 24, 2024… and carried eight Chinese satellites into Sun Synchronous Orbit,” a spokesman said.
“Most of them are surveillance satellites.”
Flinders University Associate Professor Alice Gorman, an expert in space archeology, agreed with this assessment.
“All indications are that [the object] “It is actually the fourth stage of a Chinese rocket launched in late September,” he said.
“It appears to be part of the fuel system because these are the components that usually survive the reentry process and crash down.”
WA Police reiterated there was no threat to the public but Dr Gorman said there were rules around handling space debris.
“If you see a piece of space junk that doesn’t look like it’s decades old, don’t touch it,” he said.
A photo taken at the scene.Credit: Western Australian police
Dr Gorman said such incidents could become more common in the future as more technology companies move into space exploration.
“These re-entry events are becoming more frequent,” he said
“Currently some space debris re-enters the atmosphere every day, but most of the time it is quite small. It burns up completely and people don’t even see it.
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“We will see an increase in the re-entry of large objects such as fuel tanks, which are more likely to be seen by humans, and this greater frequency means they will more often fall on land rather than out to sea.
“I don’t think people need to worry about space debris falling on their heads, but it’s something we need to watch.”
This isn’t the first space debris to land in Western Australia.
Fragments of the Skylab space station famously crashed to Earth in 1979 in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
The debris created sonic booms, and the documented debris footprint spanned nearly 4,000 kilometers, according to NASA.
Parts of Skylab still remain in the Esperance Museum; The local government also jokingly fined NASA $400 for littering.
Meanwhile, a large metal cylinder that washed ashore in Jurien Bay in 2023 was later revealed to be space junk, most likely a stage of an Indian rocket model used in regular launches.
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