China wants to build a “Tiangong” space station, and on April 29, the Long March 5B Yaoji launch vehicle successfully launched the “Tianhe core module” into the sky, but the 21-ton core section of the rocket was located in near-Earth orbit after the completion of the mission and flipped wildly out of control. It is expected to fall to Earth in the next few days, and experts have now released predicted paths for it to fall in Beijing or these places.
According to Space News, U.S. military radar is tracking the core rocket segment, which has been named “2021-035B,” at a rate of 7 kilometers per second, making an average of one orbit around the Earth every 90 minutes, space observer Jonathan McDowell said. McDowell said its path in the northern hemisphere passes through New York, Madrid and Beijing, and in the southern hemisphere, southern Chile and New Zealand.
The “2021-035B” could fall anywhere within the above-mentioned area, covering the ocean as well as densely populated areas, and the core rocket segment is about 30 meters long, 5 meters wide and weighs 21 tons. As a rule of thumb, the weight of the fallout should be 20 to 40 percent of the original weight.
Parts made of heat-resistant materials may fall to the ground, such as water tanks and propellers made of stainless steel or titanium, it is not yet clear where exactly fell, the U.S. Air Force 18th Space Control Squadron is continuing to track the movement of “2021-035B.
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