Argentine authorities seeking US help in identifying piece of space junk

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) Jan 21, 2004
Argentine authorities Wednesday were studying an apparent piece of space junk that fell in a rural area of northeastern Brazil and will ask US help in identifying its origin, an Argentine Air Force spokesman said.

Spokesman Jorge Reta told reporters that air force personnel had confirmed the object was "a space device from a substation or a satellite, possibly of Italian origin."

He said the object could not have been the remains of a plane crash, which had been a first hypothesis.

The object, a sphere measuring 1.5 meters in diameter, was reported to authorities Tuesday night, he said.

SPACE.WIRE