Flaming chunk of suspected space junk crash lands on WA mine site

Stunned workers astatine a Pilbara excavation tract recovered nan mysterious point burning astir 2pm (5pm AEDT) yesterday and alerted emergency services. 

Investigators confirmed nan c fibre discarded was not from a commercialized aircraft.

Police said it appeared to beryllium a "composite-overwrapped unit alloy aliases rocket tank, accordant pinch aerospace components".

"The entity remains nether investigation, though its characteristics are accordant pinch known abstraction re-entry debris," constabulary said, successful a statement

"Further method appraisal will beryllium undertaken by engineers from nan Australian Space Agency to assistance successful identifying its quality and source."

Space agencies often driblet debris into nan atmosphere.

"It is connected intent that this spot of rocket assemblage has landed back, but it could conscionable beryllium nan measurement that it's been tumbling that this portion was capable to survive," Perth Observatory's Matt Woods said.

The past clip abstraction junk landed successful WA was conscionable 2 years agone erstwhile an Indian rocket's vessel collapsed down successful Green Head.

Earlier this year, parts of a Mother's Day meteor scattered complete nan outback.

"[The] awesome point astir WA is we're nan second-biggest authorities successful nan world truthful we've sewage a batch of onshore wide that this worldly tin onshore on," Woods said.

NASA was famously fined for littering erstwhile its defunct abstraction position - Skylab - disintegrated complete Esperance. 

The Australian Space Agency is still investigating nan root of yesterday's discovery.

It says there's nary threat to nationalist safety.

Only 1 personification has been deed by falling abstraction discarded and it was only nan size of a soft portion can.

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