Space Ball,
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This metal space ball fell from the sky onto Namibia in mid-November, prompting authorities to call NASA for help. What? Why are you laughing? This space ball is a serious national security issue.
Space Ball,
This metal space ball fell from the sky onto Namibia in mid-November, prompting authorities to call NASA for help. What? Why are you laughing? This space ball is a serious national security issue.
The space ball is a hollow sphere made up of two halves, with a circumference of almost four feet. So that's a pretty huge ball. Ahem?. I will wait until you stop giggling so we can continue to investigate this important phenomenon. OK? Done?
After more than a month of closely inspecting the space ball, gently squeezing it while asking space to turn its head and cough, authorities still don't know what it is, but a police inspector has concluded that it "did not pose any danger." According to the AFP, this isn't the first space ball: "Several such balls have dropped in southern Africa, Australia and Latin America in the past twenty years, authorities found in an Internet search."
For anyone wondering what it actually is, it's likely a 39-litre hydrazine bladder tank (based on its apparent size; there are also much larger hydrazine tanks). They're used on unmanned rockets for satellite launches, which would explain why they're falling down in such a specific geographic footprint.
Yeah, he tank really looks like the space ball. According to the European space company Astrium, the tanks are used in the Ariane 5 rocket, which is frequently used by the European Space Agency to launch satellites.
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