Military Investigates ‘Space Ball’ Crash Landing In Vietnam

[EC]

Three metal orbs have crash landed in Vietnam prompting a military-lead investigation.

The “space balls” fell to earth over the weekend, with the largest one weighing around 45kgs.

According to Thanh Nien News the first one was found in Tuyen Quang province.

The second landed in local resident’s garden in a neighbouring region, while the third — the lightest ball weighing around 250g — fell on a roof.

The website reports a local witness saying: “The sky was clear, suddenly we heard a thunder-like noise.”

An initial investigation reports that the objects were manufactured in Russia and belong to a “specialised compressed air tanks.”

However, it is not yet clear if the orbs belong to Russia.

http://reportuk.org/2016/01/military-investigates-space-ball-crash-landing-in-vietnam/

[EdinVA]

LOX Tanks?

[EC]

I was thinking more mixing or over pressure tanks, but yeah. Something along those lines. Titanium, probably, and came in slow enough not to burn up.

The middle size one is about the right size to be a tank for an attitude thruster.

[flowers]

I was thinking more mixing or over pressure tanks, but yeah. Something along those lines. Titanium, probably, and came in slow enough not to burn up.

The middle size one is about the right size to be a tank for an attitude thruster.

From a Chinese rocket of some sort?

[EC]

Could well be Chinese - they also use Russian engines for some of their orbital stuff, or it could be a bit of a Russian (or even American!) second stage booster. Second stages don't always come back down straight away, they can stay in orbit for a few years. Depends on what the payload was and where it were going.

[flowers]

Could well be Chinese - they also use Russian engines for some of their orbital stuff, or it could be a bit of a Russian (or even American!) second stage booster. Second stages don't always come back down straight away, they can stay in orbit for a few years. Depends on what the payload was and where it were going.

As always EC thank you. You answered my next question.

[EC]

 

I were 14 in 1969 .... exactly the right age to get space obsessed. 

[flowers]

I were 14 in 1969 .... exactly the right age to get space obsessed. 

Then you remember when they would put the astronauts in quarantine for 60 or so days. I remember one of the first times I saw the space shuttle land. Astronauts just walked off the shuttle to a car. Kinda laughing remembering the quarantines.

[EC]

Oh, they're still planning on doing that for any future moon trips and the Mars trips. Safer - most of the mission control guys saw the Andromeda strain too. Walking around and getting a strange world's dust on your shoes is a bit different from floating in a tin can in orbit! 

Though Mars really shouldn't need it insofar as it protects us - the trip back would be quarantine enough. In that case the quarantine is to protect the actual astronauts. Flu changes constantly, for example - you don't really notice because you are always exposed to it. Take someone off the planet for five years though, and the change in the simple flu bug will be a massive shock to their system.