U.S. Space Command said it is tracking and reporting to the public the location of the wreckage of a Chinese Long March 5B rocket that is expected to return to Earth around May 8, but it is not possible to determine where it crashed to Earth.
In response to media inquiries Tuesday (May 4, 2021), Space Command said the 18th Space Control Squadron in California will begin daily updates on the location of the runaway Chinese rocket wreckage in space starting that day. Space Command said all space-launched debris poses a potential threat to human space flight, and the 18th Space Control Squadron provides first-line space protection and early warning to space exploration agencies worldwide.
The Chinese Long March 5B rocket launched the main space module of the Tianhe Space Station into space last week, and after separating from the capsule that had entered its intended orbit, the rocket wreckage lost control.
It is believed to be one of the largest space vehicles to return to Earth in an uncontrolled manner and possibly crash into a human-inhabited site.
A Chinese Long March series rocket launch in May 2020 is believed to have caused the wreckage to crash into a number of villages in Ivory Coast, but failed to cause casualties.
China plans to conduct frequent space launches in the next two years in an effort to establish a space station.
The Space News website said the wreckage of the 5B rocket could crash into the ground this week in New York, Madrid and anywhere between Beijing and Wellington, New Zealand.
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