Suspected ‘Space junk’ likely crashed in the Pilbara region of Western Australia on Saturday afternoon. Miners stumbled upon the debris on fire, lying in the middle of a dirt road.
Space Archeologists including Associate Professor Alice Gorman from Flinders University have linked the object to the fourth-stage launch of China’s Jielong-3 rocket.
The Australian Space Agency also said that the object was “likely a propellant tank or pressure vessel from a space launch vehicle”.
Despite the crash causing no harm, it does call attention to the accumulating congestion of ‘Space junk’ surrounding the Earth.
Image: Image: Courtesy WA Police
Produced By: Maeve Groom
Featured In Story: Associate Professor Alice Gorman – Space Archaeologist at Flinders University
First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 22 October 2025