Suspected Space Debris Washes Ashore on Queensland Beach

Six pieces of suspected space debris found washed up on north Queensland beaches could be “space balls” that are often left over from rocket launches, according to one expert.

The Australian Space Agency confirmed on Sunday it was working to determine the nature and origin of the mysterious objects which police said were suspected of containing hazardous chemicals.

Reports showed the objects, washed up on beaches in the Forrest Beach area of Townsville, appeared to be large spheres.

The Queensland Fire Department said on Sunday a total of six objects had been found washed up on beaches. Five had been “secured into drums” and a sixth was being “rendered safe” on Sunday, a spokesperson said.

A local chip shop, the Forrest Beach Takeaway, was already selling a “space junk snack box”, with a chalkboard saying “unlike some stuff that washes up on our beach, you’ll be able to identify these objects”.

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

A fire department statement said: “It is possible more debris will turn up in the area over coming days” and while there was “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.

A spokesperson for the Australian Space Agency, which is working with police and the National Emergency Management Agency, confirmed the objects were 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.”

Associate Prof Alice Gorman, a space archaeologist and space junk expert at Flinders University, has reviewed news footage and said the objects did not appear to have evidence of burning or scorching.

“This suggests they might 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 said it was also possible the objects might not be from the space industry at all and instead could be marine in origin.

But she said if the objects were space balls, they could have contained some remaining hydrazine – a highly toxic rocket fuel.

She speculated they could be from a Russian Fregat rocket which used similar pressure vessels in its fuel stages.

Space balls – not to be confused with the 1980s American space comedy – were “the most frequent piece of space junk”, Gorman said, and had 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 landmass so we do get a reasonable amount of space junk,” said Gorman.

She said space junk was 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.”