The Australian Space Agency has announced that the six balls found in north Queensland are likely part of a foreign rocket that re-entered Earth's atmosphere after being stable in orbit.

Several residents found the mysterious objects washed ashore at Forrest Beach, north of Townsville, on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, amid concerns they might contain hazardous chemicals.

An expert said these objects are likely 'space balls', known as spherical pressurised fuel tanks, and are among the most common types of space debris falling to Earth after rocket launches.

Police and fire authorities examined the objects and set up 50-metre exclusion zones around them over the weekend.

The Australian Space Agency clarified that the recovered objects 'appear to be pressure vessels from a space launch vehicle'.

The agency added in a statement: 'The agency has identified the likely source of these objects, as their location and characteristics are consistent with debris from a foreign rocket that recently re-entered the atmosphere from orbit,' according to The Guardian.

The agency confirmed it continues to coordinate with international authorities to officially confirm the identity of the launch vehicle and the country that launched it.

Associate Professor Alice Gorman, a specialist in space archaeology and space debris, said space debris returning to Earth is subject to the provisions of the 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty, of which Australia is a signatory.

Related news

She added: 'It is the most widely accepted space treaty, and it states that the country that launched the space object retains ownership. This means these pressure vessels are owned by the country that launched the rocket.'

She explained that Australia would be required to negotiate with that country to determine whether it wishes to recover these objects or not.

Gorman noted that the Indian government did not request the return of an old Indian rocket that had part of its debris washed onto Australian shores in 2023.

She explained that the pressure vessels, made of titanium alloys capable of withstanding very high temperatures, are used to store fuel before it is pumped into the rocket's engines.

She confirmed that their survival of re-entry does not necessarily indicate a malfunction in the rocket launch.

She continued that the owner country may request the debris for analysis if there was a launch anomaly, but if it is a routine part of the rocket and no malfunction occurred, it likely will not need to analyze it.

The Australian Space Agency confirmed that Queensland authorities concluded the discovered objects are safe, but warned that more space debris might be found.

Related news