Isles of Scilly rocket debris came from successful mission to International Space Station

A chunk of rocket debris found off Tresco on the Isles of Scilly did not come from a rocket that exploded after take-off.

The section of space craft was from a successful mission to the International Space Station and not the SpaceX Falcon 9 mission which exploded after take-off from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

It came from the earlier CRS-4 mission which successfully docked with the International Space Station last September.

The debris was towed ashore by several boats. Credit: Pete Hicks

The section of the spacecraft, measuring roughly 10 metres (3 feet) by 4 metres (13 feet), was spotted on the surface between Bryher and Tresco.

Local skipper Joe Thomas found the debris floating off the Isles of Scilly last week. It was towed to Tresco by several boats and then removed from the beach.