Mysterious debris found on Queensland beaches could be ‘space balls’ – and may contain toxic rocket fuel | Queensland

Six pieces of suspected space debris found off the coast of north Queensland may be “space balls” usually left over from rocket launches, according to an expert.

The Australian Space Agency confirmed on Sunday it was working to determine the nature and origin of mysterious objects that police say are suspected to contain dangerous chemicals.

Reports showed objectsThey appeared to be large orbs washed up on beaches in Townsville’s Forrest Beach area.

The Queensland Fire Service said a total of six objects were found washed up on beaches on Sunday. A spokesman said five were “secured in drums” and the sixth was “secured” on Sunday.

A local chip shop, Forrest Beach Takeawayit was already selling a “space trash snack box” with a chalkboard that said “unlike some of the things that wash up on our beach, you will be able to identify these objects.”

Police said there was “no danger to the local community and police are not investigating the incident.”

A statement from the fire department said: “More debris is likely to emerge in the area in the coming days” and that “although there is no danger to the local community at this time” locals should check. Information provided by the Australian Space Agency.

“The nature and origin of the debris are still being determined,” the statement said.

A spokesman for the Australian Space Agency, working with police and the National Emergency Management Agency, confirmed the objects were thought to be space debris.

The statement said: “The Australian Space Agency is supporting local authorities regarding suspicious space debris found at Forrest Beach in North Queensland. The agency is working to determine the nature and origin of the debris.”

Space archaeologist and space debris expert Assoc. Prof. from Flinders University. Dr. Alice Gorman reviewed news footage and said the objects did not appear to have evidence of burning or roasting.

“This suggests that these could be from a rocket stage (perhaps a first or second stage) that falls back to Earth and the rest of the stage continues to carry payload into space,” he said.

“They appear to be consistent with what you find as part of the fuel system. These are pressurized fuel containers made of titanium alloys that have a very high melting point.”

“They’re actually known as space balls and can be found years after launch. Maybe it’s not something anyone will ever see.” [landing].”

Gorman also said the objects may not have come from the space industry, but instead may have been of marine origin.

But if the objects were space balls, he said, they might have contained residue of hydrazine, a highly toxic rocket fuel.

He speculated that these might be from a Russian Fregat rocket that uses similar pressure vessels in its fuel stages.

Not to be confused with the 1980s American space comedy, space balls are “the most common piece of space debris” and are found all over the world, Gorman said.

It is estimated that there are more than 30,000 parts orbiting the planet, from working satellites to defective parts from rocket launches.

“Space junk is mostly blown over sea, but Australia is such a large landmass that we get a fair amount of space junk,” Gorman said.

He said space debris is a growing problem with the sharp increase in space launches.

“We’ve had more space launches in the last five years than in all of history. That means more re-entry has occurred.”