What is it?

Metal debris were scattered over an area in Si Sa Ket on Dec 22, 2011 following mysterious loud bangs. The army reckons the loud bangs were from an unidentified mid-air explosion. (Bangkok Post photo)

Another view of the mysterious object.

Local residents were understandably concerned when unidentified objects began falling from the sky

 23/12/11
Bangkok Post

If you live in an area that has recently been hit by artillery shells, you are understandably a bit panicky when mysterious large objects start falling out of the sky.

Thus, when residents of Kantharalak district in Si Sa Ket, the target of Cambodian shelling earlier this year, heard a loud bang, followed by reports of falling metallic debris, they assumed fighting had again broken out.

Shortly after the explosions were heard, a piece of metal about 1 metre long and half a metre wide was found in a field at Phumsarol Witthaya School, said Chokchai Saikaeo, president of tambon Sao Thongchai administration organisation.

The same school was hit by artillery fire during the fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces earlier this year and local parents were soon on the scene to take their children home.

Mr Chokchai also said several more bits of similarly burned yellowish metal were later found in nearby spots in the tambon.

Military officials moved quickly to assure the locals that the border area was calm. Troops who went to investigate the reports said the metal debris was not from an explosive device and it could be from a satellite, but there was no confirmation.

According to Space.com, Russia's troubled, toxic fuel-loaded Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, which is stuck in low-Earth orbit due to an engine failure which thwarted its journey to Mars, appears to be doomed, with small pieces of the wayward probe already falling to Earth. There was no confirmation, however, that the incident in Si Sa Ket was linked to this.

The satellite was expected to fall back to Earth in January.

Yutthasak: Border debris Asian satellite

The mystery debris found near the Cambodian border in Si Sa Ket province on Thursday morning was from an unidentified Asian satellite, Defence Minister Gen Yutthasak Sasiprapa said on Friday.

The debris was found at the foot of the mountain where Preah Vihear temple is located.

It was not the remains of an exploded spy plane or an unmanned drone aircraft, as some reports had speculated, he said.

Army specialists had examined the debris and confirmed it was the remains of an unidentified Asian satellite.

This information had already been shared with Cambodia to ensure there was no misunderstanding.

A loud explosion was heard before bits of the mystery debris were found scattered in tambon Sao Thongchai, along the border. It triggered panic among local villagers, who were shelled during the Thai-Cambodian conflict earlier this year and feared that hostilities had resumed.

Second Army chief Lt Gen Thawatchai Samutsakhon said the wreckage appeared to be from a Chinese satellite that had self-destructed on command.