In other news....
Outback space junk for sale
NICK CALACOURAS
05Jun08
AN UNIDENTIFIED piece of space junk found in the NT desert is being auctioned off on eBay.
The crashed spacecraft -- believed to be one of 10 rockets launched from Woomera in 1960s -- was found by Government scientists in the Simpson Desert, near the Queensland border two weeks ago.
Geological surveyor Simon Fanning said he was the first to spot the wreck, but the entire team agreed to keep the location a secret until they could inform authorities.
But a member of his team last week listed the find on auction site eBay. The website includes photos of the survey team examining the wreckage with a starting bid of $500. There have been no bids so far.
"That cheeky f...,'' Mr Fanning said.
"He didn't even spot it.''
Mr Fanning was critical of the crewmate who is trying to sell the rocket location.
"We work for the Government. I think he could get in a lot of trouble,'' he said.
But that did not stop Mr Fanning from taking a souvenir of his own -- a door from the wreck.
"They're going to have to take this from me by force,'' he said. "This one is going in the pool room''.
The door contains pencil markings, including the date 20/07/1966.
Mr Fanning said his team of three were flying through the Simpson Desert, near Jervois Station, 350km from Alice Springs, when he spotted the rocket."I saw out the window this big, round, shiny thing.''
Mr Fanning said the wreck was three metres wide and two metres tall.
"It is slightly crushed and bent, but largely intact,'' he said. "It hasn't been burnt and it didn't look like there had been any fire around it.''
The debris is believed to be from one of the 10 'Blue streak' rockets launched at Woomera in South Australia in the 1960s by the European Launcher Development Organisation.
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2008/06/05/4298_ntnews.html