Interestingly, this piece of metal and carbon fiber continued to burn. Researchers believe it is part of the Chinese rocket “CZ-5,” which was launched into at the end of September. This was reported by leading space archaeology expert Alice Gorman, an associate professor at Flinders University.
If this is indeed the case, the fragment may have been orbiting Earth for some time before suddenly re-entering the atmosphere and crashing down, the expert believes.
The state police conducting the investigation stated, “Initial examinations indicated that the object, made of carbon fiber, could be a composite high-pressure vessel or a rocket tank associated with space technology.” The police also added that they are awaiting further technical assessments from engineers at the Australian Space Agency to help determine the nature and origin of the find.
Josef Aschbacher, the Director General of the European Space Agency, who recently visited Australia for the International Astronautical Congress, told the Guardian that space debris is becoming an increasingly serious issue in . This is particularly true as the frequency of rocket launches increases, leading to more instances of debris falling to Earth, the publication reported. Dr. Aschbacher also noted that space explorers must deorbit spacecraft after their operational life ends.
“Spacecraft should be designed to break into sufficiently small pieces that burn up in the atmosphere, preventing them from reaching the Earth’s surface,” he added.
Meanwhile, Alice Gorman stated that anyone launching a rocket should have a plan for what to do when it reaches the end of its service life. According to the scientist, debris falls to Earth quite frequently, but it is very rare to see it continue to burn.