Indian space debris that washed up at Green Head, north of Perth, to feature in new Scitech exhibit

A huge piece of Indian space junk that washed up on a West Australian beach 12 months ago will be put on display.

The 500kg capsule was found by a member of the public near Green Head, 250km north of Perth, on July 15, 2023.

Now its future has been decided, with the barnacle-encrusted rocket debris to feature in a new exhibition at the Scitech Discovery Centre in West Perth.

Science Minister Stephen Dawson said there was strong competition for the piece but that ultimately we “wanted to make sure as many Western Australians as possible could see it”.

“Lots of people reached out who were interested in hosting the piece of space debris. It is amazing, the journey that it’s taken to get here, but it wasn’t hard for us to decide that it should be placed at Scitech,” he said.

“Scitech already engages with lots of young Western Australian kids and families, and people more broadly, and so it just made perfect sense to host it there.

“It will get a fantastic new display. The display will tell the story of where it came from, the journey it went through, how it meandered through the ocean and so it will be a really important tool to teach people about science, technology, engineering and maths.”

The new display will open at Scitech’s Planetarium foyer, free of charge, in the “not too distant future”.

Dawson revealed the news amid a $1 million funding announcement for not-for-profit Scitech to create new exhibits and take its roadshows to the regions.

The space tank was jettisoned from an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and would normally have burned up on reentry but managed to survive.

The debris spent significant time, believed to be years, floating at sea before it hit the sand in WA.

Experts were called in to clear it of any danger after initially fearing it could be carcinogenic.

Following testing, it was moved to a secret location before being trucked down to Perth.

SciTech chief executive John Chappell said he was excited to secure the “significant” piece.

“Most times when space debris reaches the ground it’s actually quite small. It’s unusual for large pieces like this to survive reentry and to remain relatively intact,” he said.

“We don’t know if this is one of the largest pieces that has made it to WA but it’s certainly very significant.”