The Chinese rocket “Long March 5B Yaoji” (Long March5B) was successfully launched on April 29 with the core module “Tianhe”, but now it has a runaway accident and is expected to crash to the Earth’s surface on Saturday (8) EST.
The U.S. Department of Defense is monitoring and tracking the debris on the surface of the Earth. (Photo / Reuters)
The company’s first-ever “Long March 5B” (Long March 5B) was successfully launched on April 29, but now it’s happened to one of the biggest space junk.
The nonprofit Aerospace Corporation predicts that the debris will fly over the U.S. Eastern cities and crash into the Pacific Ocean near the equator. The Pentagon believes that the debris “will not be able to be located within hours of re-entry.
Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell noted that the effect of the rocket wreckage hitting the ground would be “equivalent to a small plane crashing 100 miles away. He referred to another Chinese rocket that crashed out of control into the Atlantic Ocean in western Africa in May 2020: “Big, long metal rods flew across the sky and damaged several buildings in the Ivory Coast. …… China was really negligent, and we don’t intentionally let something over 10 tons go out of control and fall out of the sky. “.
The Chinese space agency has not said whether it regained control of the rocket, but the official media Global Times reported that the rocket’s “thin-skinned” aluminum shell could easily burn up in the atmosphere and pose little threat to humans.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on May 5 that the United States is working to address the growing risk of congestion due to increased space activity and space junk, and that “we want to work with the international community to promote leadership and responsible behavior in the space sector.
Recent Comments