The mysterious object that washed up to the shore last month is most likely debris from an expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) of Indian Space Research organisation (ISRO), the Australian Space Agency said on Monday.
ISRO also told the BBC that the object was debris from one of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLV). Its spokesperson Sudhir Kumar added that it would be up to Australia to decide what to do with the object.
As per The Indian Express, an ISRO official said that the object was most likely an unburnt part of the PSLV which launched a navigation satellite for the IRNSS constellation two months ago. The official said the satellite was launched in the southward direction. “It is possible that one of the parts of the rocket did not burn completely while dropping back into the atmosphere, and fell into the ocean. It could later have been swept towards the Australian shore,” they added.
The Australian Space Agency has said it has stored the debris and is working with ISRO. It added that ISRO will provide further communication to figure out the next steps. The steps that could be taken include obligations under the United Nations space treaties.
The ISRO official added that it was premature to say if a team from the Indian agency would visit Australia to identify the space debris.
The Australian Space Agency has asked the community to report any further suspected they find to local authorities and notify the agency.