CANBERRA, Australia—Authorities were looking into whether a cylindrical object the size of a compact vehicle that washed up on a remote Australian beach was space trash from a foreign rocket on Tuesday.
Police had roped off the barnacle-encrusted item after it was discovered late Sunday near Green Head, approximately 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Perth.
The Australian Space Agency said it was working with other space organizations to identify the object, which looks to be comprised of braided material in parts.
“The object could be from a foreign space launch vehicle and we are liaising with global counterparts who may be able to provide more information,” the agency wrote on Twitter.
Andrea Boyd, a European Space Agency engineer, said her colleagues suspected the object washed ashore in the Indian Ocean fell from an Indian rocket that was deploying a satellite.
“We’re pretty sure, based on the shape and the size, it is an upper-stage engine from an Indian rocket that’s used for a lot of different missions,” she told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Whoever launched the object into space would be responsible for its disposal.
“There is a United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and they have an Outer Space Treaty that everyone has signed saying that whoever launches something into space is responsible for it right until the very end,” Ms. Boyd said.
On Tuesday, the Indian Space Research Organization did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
According to Western Australia Police, a government chemical study confirmed the item was harmless and that "there is no current risk to the community."
Authorities have already declared the gadget dangerous and advised the public to avoid it.
Police said the gadget will be removed once its origin was determined.
“Police will maintain the security of the object until it is removed and members of the public are requested to stay away from the location,” the statement said.
Some early media accounts stated the discovery was part of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777 that went missing in the Indian Ocean in 2014, killing 239 people. However, such a hypothesis was immediately debunked.
On Sunday, curious neighbors soon congregated to pose for photographs with the device before police arrived.
Brad Tucker, an astronomer and cosmologist at the Australian National University, said the object "definitely does look space chunky."
Mr. Tucker advised witnesses to keep their distance from the rocket's upper stages which might contain the hazardous propellant hydrazine.
