Great story and some amazing pictures. I'm no expert on the weather conditions which prevail in that region , but the remains don't look like they have spent 40 years or more open to the ravages of extreme temperatures. Having said that , it may be that its just those conditions which have led to the hardware staying in an almost pristine state. Could this be "wreckage" from a much more recent launch I wonder ???? John ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael & Caroline Rice" <mcrice@bigpond.com> To: "'Seesat List'" <SeeSat-L@satobs.org> Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 1:20 PM Subject: Rocket wreckage found in outback > From Australian ABC News > http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/04/2265252.htm > Also links to video > http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200806/r257547_1067056.asx > And photo http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200806/r257563_1067126.jpg > > Rocket wreckage found in outback > =========================================================== > > Surveyors in the Simspon Desert have discovered what is believed to be > part > of a blue streak rocket launched at Woomera in 1966. > > Simon Fanning and his geological survey team were flying over the Simpson > Desert when they saw what they believed was part of satellite in the > scrub. > > "It turns out this wreck is not in fact a satellite but a rocket - at > least > a chunk of one anyway" he said. > > "I'd seen ET as a kid, Star Wars and all that stuff, but to actually find > something was really different." > > Dr Alice Gorman of Flinders University in Adelaide believes the rocket > could > be one of 10 blue streak rockets launched at Woomera in South Australia in > the 1960s by the European Launcher Development Organisation. > > "The blue streak's very distinctive and the location in the Simpson Desert > and the details on the rocket indicate it's most likely from one of the > two > 1966 launches" she said. > > Mr Fanning is reluctant to disclose the precise location of the find, but > the ABC has found a EBay site offering the GPS coordinates for sale. > > There is private collector interest in blue streaks, but Dr Gorman says > this > discovery belongs in a museum. > > "There was only a handful of them launched here in Australia" she said. > > "I think it would be appropriate to put this one in a museum." > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: > http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe/Unsubscribe info, Frequently Asked Questions, SeeSat-L archive: http://www.satobs.org/seesat/seesatindex.html
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