Huge debris from a 22-ton Chinese rocket will fall back to Earth without any control

A few months later The impact of a Chinese rocket’s debris on Earth – thankfully without incident, a new pitcher from the country is causing concern. Another fragment from the Long March 5B launcher should fall on our surface the planetaired Space On November 2, 2022. The exact moment and place of its downfall, however, is difficult to predict with precision.

According to Aerospace Corporation, an American company specializing in space, said the rocket’s return to Earth could occur between November 4 and 5 at midnight (French time) with a margin of error of 10 hours. ” A re-entry will be made by one of these tracks on the ground here illustrated », Mentioned Society. In the following map, space debris return locations are located with blue or yellow traces.

This Chinese rocket has a ground reach of 5 to 9 tons

There was a rocket was initiated into space on October 31, 2022 from the Wenchang launch pad on Hainan Island. Its mission is to send Tiangong, the last module of China’s space station under construction, into space. The volume in question is called Mengtian (“Dream of Heaven”). The module has its own ventilation system, which is to be used to carry out scientific experiments.

Currently, the Long March 5B body that launched it is in orbit Almost round Around our planet. The estimated mass of the portion of the rocket that must return to Earth in an uncontrolled manner is ” 22.5 tons, the volume of a 10-story building », According to Aerospace Corp. The company expects approx 5 to 9 tons A rocket can reach the ground.

Due to the size of the rocket and the uncontrolled return to Earth, it is unlikely that the material will burn up completely in the Earth’s atmosphere. The danger to people and things on Earth is very real. ” More than 88% of the world’s population lives under the potential imprint of back-to-school litter “, notes the company, whose experts are investigating the space debris situation.

China does not plan any orbital maneuvers for its rocket

” Typically, a rocket’s first stage and accompanying boosters are not designed to reach orbit., Details Aerospace Corp. The platform and its boosters typically have their trajectories planned to fall in a safe area in the ocean.. However, in the case of Long March 5B rockets, they are designed as the first stage to reach Earth orbit during launch. If no orbit maneuver is planned, the craft’s subsequent return to Earth cannot be controlled.

During an orbit maneuver, the engines of the satellite or rocket stage bring the craft down and are used to determine where it will land on Earth. By doing so, you may decide to dump the debris on a deserted area such as the ocean where it poses no danger to anyone. Unfortunately, the Long March 5B models do not have this, which causes serious safety issues.

This rocket part could become the 6th largest object to enter Earth’s atmosphere – the others being the first space stations (Mir, Skylab, Salyut 6 and 7) and the second stage of the Saturn V rocket that launched Skylab.