Remnants of China's largest rocket launched last week are expected to plunge back through the atmosphere late Saturday or early Sunday, a U.S. federally funded space-focused research and development centre said.
China's foreign ministry said on Friday that most debris from the rocket will be burned up on re-entry and is highly unlikely to cause any harm, after the U.S. military said that what it called an uncontrolled re-entry was being tracked by U.S. Space Command.
The Long March 5B - comprising one core stage and four boosters - lifted off from China's Hainan island on April 29 with the unmanned Tianhe module, which contains what will become living quarters on a permanent Chinese space station. Harvard-based astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell previously told Reuters there is a chance that pieces of the rocket could come down over land, perhaps in a populated area, as in May 2020, when pieces from the first Long March 5B rained down on the Ivory Coast, damaging several buildings, though no injuries were reported.
"The Long March 5B re-entry is unusual because during launch, the first stage of the rocket reached orbital velocity instead of falling downrange as is common practice," the Aerospace Corporation said in a blog post.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
China says rocket debris landed in Indian Ocean on SundayRemnants of China's biggest rocket landed in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, with the bulk of its components destroyed upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, according to Chinese state media, ending days of speculation over where the debris would hit.
Read more »
Guests on Sunday talk shows: Gina Raimondo on 'Face the Nation' on CBSSunday talk shows, May 9: Gina Raimondo on 'Face the Nation' on CBS; 'Meet the Press'; 'This Week'; 'Fox News Sunday'; 'State of the Union'; '60 Minutes'
Read more »
John Krasinski And His Sunday Night Banner Signs First Look Deal With Paramount PicturesEXCLUSIVE: With A Quiet Place II set to become one the first major summer tentpoles to bow in over two years on Memorial Day weekend, Paramount Pictures has moved fast to make sure its multi-talent…
Read more »