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Journalism of Courage
A massive metal object that washed up on a beach near Jurien Bay in Western Australia could be part of some country’s space launch vehicle, as per the Australian Space Agency.
The massive copper-coloured cylinder was found substantially damaged and leaning on its side, according to The Guardian. In images, the copper cylinder seems quite weather-worn and seems to have quite a few barnacles attached to it, indicating that it has been in the ocean for a while.
Science Alert pointed out the possibility that the rocket could have an Indian connection—it could be part of the third-stage booster of the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). An image of engineers hoisting PSLV’s third-stage shows a component that doesn’t look dissimilar to the object that washed up in Australia.
European Space Agency engineer Andrea Boyd told Australian Broadcasting Corp. that her colleagues believe the item washed up from the Indian Ocean from an Indian rocket that launched the satellite. “We’re pretty sure, based on the shape and the size, it is an upper-stage engine from an Indian rocket that’s used for a lot of different missions,” AP quoted her as saying.
