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SpaceX rocket debris lands in sheep paddock, Australian Space Agency confirms

space junk in grass

The Australian Space Agency has confirmed debris found in the NSW Snowy Mountains belongs to SpaceX.

Three pieces of space junk have so far been found in the region, which are considered to be the biggest pieces found in Australia since 1979.

Two pieces were inspected by technical experts from the Australian Space Agency and NSW Police on Saturday.

Police have since confirmed they were also aware of the third piece being found in the region.

a long piece of space junk
This piece of space junk is estimated to be up to three meters long. (ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)

Authorities believed the space debris belonged to SpaceX but had been awaiting confirmation.

“The agency has confirmed the debris is from a SpaceX mission and continues to engage with our counterparts in the US, as well as other parts of the Commonwealth and local authorities as appropriate,” an Australian Space Agency spokesperson said.

“The agency is operating under the Australian Government Space Re-entry Debris Plan which outlines roles and responsibilities for key Australian government agencies and committees in supporting the response to space re-entry debris.”

a piece of space junk lies on the ground in a paddock
This third piece of space junk was also found in the NSW Snowy Mountains, near Jindabyne.(Supplied: Nick Lodge)

It comes after locals reported hearing a loud boom on July 9, which was considered to have been caused by the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which was launched in November 2020, re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.

Locals in the regions are being told that there’s a possibility more pieces could still be found.

“If the community spots any further suspected debris they should not attempt to handle it or retrieve it,” the agency said.

“They should contact the SpaceX Debris Hotline at 1-866-623-0234 or at [email protected].”

SpaceX has been contacted for comment.

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Space junk has landed at two properties in the NSW Snowy Mountains.(ABC South East NSW: Adriane Reardon)

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Categories
Australia

Foot-and-mouth disease threat prompts Victoria to form emergency animal disease task force

Beef cattle line up under a blue sky

The Victorian government will establish an Emergency Animal Disease (EAD) task force to prepare for an incursion of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), which is currently circulating through parts of Indonesia.

The task force would be co-chaired by Agriculture Victoria chief executive officer Matt Lowe and the Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp, taking advice from Victoria’s Chief Veterinarian Graeme Cooke.

The Australian government has ramped up biosecurity measures to prevent foot-and-mouth and lumpy skin disease entering the country, since it was discovered in Bali, Indonesia a month ago.

Experts fear the exotic livestock diseases could cost the economy billions if it made it into Australia.

“We want to get a focus and targeted government response to a whole range of things we need to put in place in terms of being prepared and to prevent an outbreak,” Victorian Agriculture Minister Gayle Tierney said.

“[The task force] will be looking at things like developing an EAD response plan and will also be looking at access to sufficient personal protective equipment and the supply chain issues that we have in respect to testing, tracing, destruction, disposal and vaccination.”

‘No delay’ in task force formation

Ms Tierney said there had been a “lot of work already underway” that would help mitigate any EAD threats, including coordinating with the national process for service and infrastructure continuity.

a cow, with someone holding its tongue out.
The symptoms of foot-and-mouth disease on the tongue of an Indonesian cow.(Supplied: Dok. Kementan)

“It’s clear that there is anxiety within the farming community, people are wanting to know more and we’ve been able to give very practical advice through webinars,” she said.

“This is a good time [to] have those conversations at a grassroots level that give farmers the opportunity to turn that anxiety into very positive practical measures.

“We have a very clear understanding of what the risks are and what we need to do to ramp things up to ensure our preparedness is the best it could possibly be.”

Three hundred biosecurity staff were being trained through Agriculture Victoria to prepare for an FMD outbreak in the state, learning about scenario planning and emergency exercises.

Ms Tierney said despite Indonesia having FMD present in the country for months, the taskforce was a “rapid response”.

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