space travel
Chinese missile debris expected on Earth
The Long March 5B Y3 launch vehicle with the Wentian laboratory module takes off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center. photo
© Li Gang/Xinhua/AP/dpa
Debris from a Chinese missile is expected to hit the ground sometime this weekend. Where exactly the remains of “Long March 5B” fell is not known.
According to experts, debris from a Chinese rocket is expected to hit Earth from space at the weekend. Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Reentry Studies (CORDS) in California expects the Long March 5B rocket to reenter between the afternoon and late evening Saturday. It is unclear where the debris from the missile could then fall to earth. According to experts, however, the probability that people or populated areas will be hit is extremely low.
China had received criticism from NASA for the fact that the rocket did not break up into smaller parts when it entered the atmosphere, as is the international standard.
Modules for your own space station
The country launched the second module for its “Tiangong” (Heaven’s Palace) space station, which is currently under construction, with a laboratory on board last Sunday. The Long March 5B rocket placed the module in orbit within minutes. China’s space agency spoke of a “complete success” after the launch. The new module is to dock with the core module “Tianhe”, which was launched in April 2021.
According to this, in May 2021, the remains of a rocket used for this purpose fell into the Indian Ocean near the Maldives archipelago. According to China’s space program, “most of it” was burned up and destroyed when it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere. Even then there was criticism from NASA. Space nations must minimize the dangers to people and property on Earth from the re-entry of space objects and demonstrate the greatest possible openness to such operations, Nasa boss Bill Nelson said.