‘LVM3 rocket debris’ washed ashore on Sri Lanka coast | India News

NEW DELHI: Days after Isro launched its heavy-lift rocket LVM3 carrying US BlueBird Block-2 satellite, rocket debris, suspected of the Indian space rocket, washed ashore on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. The rocket part was found on Sunday evening along the Malai Munthal sea stretch near Trincomalee. Local residents and fishermen first spotted the object after it was pushed ashore by strong ocean currents, prompting alerts to Sri Lankan authorities.Experts suspect the fragment is a portion of the payload fairing, the protective shell that houses satellites, which typically detaches during the rocket’s ascent. The payload fairing is five metre in diameter and 10 metre long. Following the spotting of the debris, Lankan naval officials were deployed to secure the site. This is not the first such incident in the region. In the past, debris from rockets launched from Sriharikota had occasionally been recovered in the waters of Sri Lanka and the Maldives.In the past, parts of Indian rocket debris were also found on the Australian coast. On July 31, 2013, officials had identified an object found on a beach in Western Australia to be a part of a rocket launched by Isro. The Australian Space Agency had then said it was likely debris from the “expended third-stage of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle”.