posted 12-23-2011 06:10 PM               

Metallic space ball falls in Namibia

Falling space debris made headlines (AFP) this week after a "metallic space ball" found in Namibia, Africa was determined to be made of a "metal alloy known to man."

The hollow ball with a circumference of 1.1 metres was found near a village in the north of the country some 750 kilometres from the capital Windhoek, according to police forensics director Paul Ludik.

Locals had heard several small explosions a few days beforehand, he said.

With a diameter of 35 centimeters, the ball has a rough surface and appears to consist of "two halves welded together".

NASA and the European Space Agency were contacted and while the metal ball's specific origin (i.e. spacecraft) hasn't been determined, it has been recognized as a propulsion tank — "a tank that held fuel for rocket thrusters on a spacecraft."

According to Scott Hull, an orbital debris engineer at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, the tank is "probably titanium, since it has no discernible rust or burn-through spots."

"Tanks like this survive reentry relatively frequently," he said.

Indeed, a quick search of the internet turns up several similar tanks that were found in southern Africa, Australia and Latin America over the past two decades.

posted 12-24-2011 11:48 AM               

If the U.S. (rather than NASA in particular) requested return of the debris, it would be to protect public safety, and then it would be required to cover any of the costs associated with collecting and transporting the debris.

Of course, that assumes the debris is of U.S. origin, which hasn't been determined (based on the latest media reports).

posted 12-24-2011 11:53 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by SpaceAholic:
Rather then being a propulsion tank that held fuel...

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