A third piece of space junk has been found in the Snowy Mountains of NSW, believed to be linked to a SpaceX spacecraft.
Key Points:
- A third piece of space junk has been found in the Snowy Mountains of NSW
- The Australian Space Agency visited the region to inspect the fragments first hand
- Authorities contacted SpaceX to see if they will claim ownership of the fragments
Farmers recently found two other pieces of debris on neighboring properties in Numbla Vale, after a loud bang was heard in the region on July 9.
The sonic boom was believed to be caused by the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which launched in November 2020, re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.
A piece of the scrap was embedded in the ground and was estimated to be about three meters long.
The third piece of debris was discovered and photographed by a Moonbah resident on July 14.
It wasn’t until the ABC’s coverage of the space junk in late July that the owner came forward.
News of the discoveries also prompted a visit from technical experts from the Australian Space Agency and NSW Police on Saturday.
“The agency is actively working to support the formal identification of objects and is liaising with our counterparts in the US,” an agency spokesman said.
“If the community detects any other suspicious waste, they should contact the local police in the first instance.”
Farmer Mick Miners came across a piece of space junk on July 25. (ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)
Monaro Police District Superintendent John Klepczarek said the items would remain on the properties while authorities waited for SpaceX to confirm ownership.
“We think it could be partnered with SpaceX, but we won’t confirm that until we get acknowledgment from them,” he said.
“It’s an early indication from them that there might be attempts to recover this space junk.”
This piece was photographed in the Moonbah region on July 14. (Provided by Nick Lodge)
Like pieces of a puzzle
Australian National University Faculty of Science astrophysicist Brad Tucker said he was not surprised that more fragments had been found.
Snowy Mountains resident Jock Wallace with a piece of space junk. (ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)
“You would expect there to be more fragments of this somewhere,” he said.
“You can probably build enough pieces and put them together almost if more are found.”
Dr Tucker believes more pieces of space junk could be found in the Snowy Mountains of NSW. (ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)
Dr Tucker said the discovery of the pieces could be the biggest space junk find in Australia since parts of NASA’s Skylab space station fell to Earth near the southern town of Balladonia. western Western Australia in 1979.
He said there was still much to learn about what could be done with the objects.
“Ultimately SpaceX, or at least the US, will have to make a statement about whether they want to keep it or return it, or not,” Dr Tucker said.
“That doesn’t happen that often, so it’s not like you’re pulling this standard ‘space junk landed in my sheep paddock’ form.”
“There’s a lot of unique work that needs to be done.”
“Respect and courtesy please”
The authorities involved did not miss the uniqueness of the situation.
“We often say to the police that you never know what today will bring,” said Commander Superintendent Klepczarek.
“But I can tell you that the police were not expecting to find space debris when they came to work at the weekend.”
Police have asked the public to give the homeowners privacy during this time.
“This is private property, these are people’s homes,” said Commander Superintendent Klepczarek.
“Don’t go off the road, driving around people’s property looking for the chance to find more bits and pieces, just a little respect and courtesy please.”
SpaceX has been contacted for comment.
Space for play or pause, M for mute, left and right arrows for search, up and down arrows for volume. Adrian Reardon)
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