Overview
- Local fishermen spotted the large object on March 12 about six nautical miles off Thiruppalaikudi and alerted the Devipattinam Marine Police.
- The Marine Police warned boats to keep away, identified it as PSLV hardware, and notified ISRO.
- A three-member VSSC team led by Scientist Saju recovered the debris on March 18 with help from police and fishermen and moved it to Thiruvananthapuram for analysis.
- ISRO identified the piece as the SITVC system from the PSLV’s S139 first-stage booster, a unit that steers the rocket by injecting chemical flow into the nozzle.
- Officials said the recovered booster component is a spent part that poses no danger, and analysis to determine its mission of origin is underway at VSSC.