History repeats itself. Once again the remains of a huge Chinese rocket are out of control and, according to the United States Space Command, will fall somewhere on Earth during the next week. The Asian giant has also been responsible for two other uncontrolled exorbitations in the last three years.
On this occasion, the rocket’s 20-ton core stage Long March 5B is circling our planet after having fulfilled its mission. The same, which responds to China’s ambitious space exploration plans, consisted of putting Wentian, the second module of the Tiangong orbiting station, into orbit.
Successful takeoff, uncontrolled fall
The Long March 5B rocket successfully took off from the Wenchang launch base in Hainan last Sunday at 14:22 local time (08:22 Spanish peninsular time). Within minutes, it detached its core stage and the Wentian module continued on to the space station, docking with the Tianhe front port later.
Now, as in the previous two launches with the same type of rocket, the core stage is out of control and at the mercy of fluctuations in the atmosphere caused by changes in solar activity. Although it can be traced accurately, it is not possible to identify the exact impact location on Earth.
Professor at the University of British Columbia and author of a space debris study points out that this type of uncontrolled fall represents a minimal risk for humans, but it is a completely avoidable situation since the space industry, in general, is in charge of carrying out controlled re-entries.
When we talk about the Long March 5B we are referring to a huge device weighing more than 20 tons whose central stage may not completely disintegrate on re-entry, so some parts could pass through the atmosphere. If it is a controlled reentry, it is known exactly where they will fall, in this case there is no precise data.
for now, according to the United States Space Command, has delimited a wide geographical area where the remains of the Chinese rocket could impact, an area between latitudes 41 degrees south and 41 degrees north of the equatorbut the exact point of entry will not be known until a few hours before re-entry.
China has been criticized by NASA repeatedly for handling their space debris. The US agency ensures that “nations that carry out space activities must minimize the risks to people and property on Earth.” The Asian country according to Global Timesensures that these are exaggerated fears.
Image | China News Service
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