The launch of the second module of China’s Tiangong space station on July 24.
A Chinese rocket booster returned to Earth without control on Saturday, prompting US officials to reprimand Beijing for not sharing information about the potentially dangerous object’s descent.
US Space Command “can confirm that the Long March 5B (CZ-5B) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) re-entered the Indian Ocean at approximately 10:45 a.m. MDT on 7/30 “, the US military unit said on Twitter.
“We refer you to the #PRC for further details on the technical aspects of re-entry, such as possible debris dispersion + impact location,” he said.
In a statement posted on its official WeChat profile, China’s Manned Space Agency later gave the coordinates of an impact area in the Sulu Sea, about 35 miles (57 kilometers) off the east coast of the island of Palawan in the Philippines.
“Most of its devices were removed and destroyed during re-entry,” the agency said of the booster rocket, which was used last Sunday to launch the second of three modules China needed to complete its new space station Tiangong.
Malaysia’s space agency said it detected rocket debris burning up on re-entry before falling into the Sulu Sea northeast of the island of Borneo.
“The rocket debris caught fire while entering Earth’s airspace and the movement of the burning debris also crossed Malaysia’s airspace and could be detected in various areas such as crossing the space aerial around the state of Sarawak,” he said.
Chart showing how China’s mission to build its space station is scheduled.
NASA reviews
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson criticized Beijing on Twitter, saying that not sharing details of the rocket’s descent was irresponsible and risky.
“All spacefaring nations should follow established best practices and do their part to share this type of information in advance,” Nelson wrote, “to enable reliable predictions of the potential risk of debris impact , especially for heavy transport vehicles, such as the Long March 5B. , which carry a significant risk of loss of life and property.”
He added: “Doing so is critical to the responsible use of space and to ensuring the safety of people here on Earth.”
The Tiangong space station is one of the crown jewels of Beijing’s ambitious space program, which has landed robotic robots on Mars and the moon and made China the third nation to put humans into orbit.
The new module, powered by the Long March 5B, successfully docked with the Tiangong core module on Monday, and the three astronauts who have been living in the main compartment since June successfully entered the new laboratory.
When China launched its first Tiangong module in April 2021, there was a similar frenzy over the possibility of damage from an unpredictable re-entry of boosters.
Objects generate immense amounts of heat and friction when they enter the atmosphere, which can cause them to burn up and disintegrate. But the biggest ones like the Long March-5B may not be completely destroyed.
In 2020, debris from another Chinese rocket fell on villages in Ivory Coast, causing structural damage but no injuries or deaths.
China has invested billions of dollars in spaceflight and exploration as it seeks to build a program that reflects its stature as a rising world power.
Uncontrolled debris from the Chinese space rocket could crash into Earth as soon as Saturday
© 2022 AFP
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