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This NASA satellite image taken during the World Wind project, Jan. 31, 2007, provides an excellent view of Hilton Head Island, S.C., where the space debris was discovered after washing ashore.

Space debris found on Carolina coast goes on display

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
This NASA satellite image taken during the World Wind project, Jan. 31, 2007, provides an excellent view of Hilton Head Island, S.C., where the space debris was discovered after washing ashore.
This NASA satellite image taken during the World Wind project, Jan. 31, 2007, provides an excellent view of Hilton Head Island, S.C., where the space debris was discovered after washing ashore.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) – A piece of space debris that washed up on a South Carolina beach is going on display in a museum.

The Island Packet newspaper of Hilton Head reports the exhibit featuring the object opens on Tuesday at the Coastal Discovery Museum.

A 12-foot by 20-foot metallic object that washed up on the island proved to be a rocket fairing, a structure used to reduce drag.

It was given to the museum after officials talked with the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing that built the rocket.

The museum explains the natural and cultural heritage of the area. Museum CEO Michael Marks said finding the object is an event in the island’s modern history.

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AP-ES-07-27-10 0404EDT