Paul wrote:

Thanks for your comments...

According to the finder, apparently there were no obvious
manufacturer's marking on the components nor any recognizable
aircraft-type fasteners, and it impacted directly down rather than
skidding along the ground first. There were no other parts found in
the area. And I haven't found any part of a plane that looks like
this or has this functional capability.

I'm not sure if the cylinders are actuators or propellant thruster
valves - the person who found it tells me there are 10 or so of them
in an array. If the prior, perhaps it's part of an early satellite.
If the latter, I don't know why there would be so many unless they
provide some sort of shock absorbing function. It appears there are
manifold tubes connecting them together and note that there is a
connection in the middle of the cylinder - not usual for an actuator -
more normal for a thruster valve.



If they are for shock absorbsion could this be part of an escape capsule
of some sort? It looks sort of heavy and primative for something
space-related. On the other hand, the cylinder on the right-hand size of
the image seems to have a thermal blanket around it...is this an
engine-gimbaling assembly?

Pat