Massive Chinese rocket heads for uncontrolled reentry: report

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Edmund DeMarche | Fox News




The massive core of a Chinese rocket used last week in the launch of the first leg of its space station ambitions is whipping around Earth in a low orbit, and where it lands is anybody's guess.

SpaceNews reported that the core of the Long March 5B, which is considered a variant of the country's largest rocket, will reenter the Earth within the next week as one of the "largest instances of uncontrolled reentry of a spacecraft and could potentially land on an inhabited area."

The website estimated that the roughly 100-foot-long object is orbiting Earth every 90 minutes and zips past north of New York, Beijing and as far south as New Zealand. The report said that despite the threat, it is most likely destined to splash in one of the world's oceans or in an isolated area.

Jonathan McDowell, a spaceflight observer, told the website that since 1990, there have been no instances of any spacecraft over 10 tons that have "been deliberately left in orbit to reenter uncontrolled."

The report said the rocket’s core stage – when empty—is about 21 metric tons in mass. (You can track the rocket here.)

"It’s potentially not good," McDowell said, according to the Guardian. "Last time they launched a Long March 5B rocket they ended up with big long rods of metal flying through the sky and damaging several buildings in the Ivory Coast."

The Tianhe, or "Heavenly Harmony," module blasted into space atop a Long March 5B rocket from the Wenchang Launch Center on the southern island province of Hainan. The payload was the main module of its first permanent space station.

The space program is a source of huge national pride, and Premier Li Keqiang and other top civilian and military leaders watched the launch live from the control center in Beijing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

[lost in melb.]

Do the Chinese give a shit? Nah.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Will anyone hold them responsible? Nah.

[lost in melb.]

Will anyone hold them responsible? Nah.

Only if it lands in the Philippines

[FBD]

https://i.4cdn.org/pol/1620198689177.webm

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Tyler Olson | FOXBusiness


The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is working with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to track any impact the Chinese rocket hurtling uncontrolled toward Earth might have on commercial air travel, the agency told FOX Business.

In normal space launches, rocket bodies detach and fall on a planned path into the ocean. But this Chinese rocket accidentally went into orbit around the Earth and is circling the planet on a path to eventually crash. Officials aren't sure where it will land.

"The FAA is engaged with NORAD and will send out an advisory to any facilities that would be potentially impacted. Tactical decisions, if needed, will be made based on real-time information," an FAA spokesperson told FOX Business when asked about any potential impact the rocket could have on commercial air travel in the form of delays or cancellations.

The Aerospace Corporation, a nonprofit that provides technical guidance to the U.S. government on space-related matters, shows on its website that the rocket could reenter above the United States, South America, southern Europe, Africa, Asia or Australia. Nearly every major city in the United States is within the "uncertainty window."

This could mean that the rocket could travel through U.S. airspace, where the FAA handles 45,000 flights per day, on average. The FAA statement did not elaborate on what "tactical decisions" it may need to make or the scope of the impact they may have.

"U.S. Space Command is aware of and tracking the location of the Chinese Long March 5B in space, but its exact entry point into the Earth’s atmosphere cannot be pinpointed until within hours of its reentry, which is expected around May 8," a statement from the U.S. Space Command read earlier this week.

Experts have emphasized that the risk to any individual person or location is very small. The rocket is more likely than not to land in an ocean. And even if it does not, it is highly likely to land in an unpopulated area.

"Bottom Line = Don't panic," the Space Track website, through which the 18th Space Control Squadron is providing updates on the rocket's location, tweeted.

But, astronomer Jonathan McDowell noted, it is possible that the rocket could cause damage on the ground like a previous Chinese rocket did to villages along Africa's Ivory Coast.

"I completely agree, no reason for panic," McDowell tweeted, responding to a Chinese state media article about the rocket. "BUT ‘... could cause damage [is] Western hype’ No, I disagree. The last one caused damage!"

The latest prediction from Space Track on when the rocket could re-enter the atmosphere is just after 7 p.m., Eastern Time, on Saturday, plus or minus 9 hours.

[lost in melb.]

In a country where peasants shit on the side of the road, why does this surprise me.

Literally cleaning up their shit!

Official word from China? It didn't happen. What a bunch of adolescents.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Stephen Sorace | Fox News


NASA rebuked China for failing to meet responsible spacefaring standards after remnants of the nation's rogue Long March 5B rocket landed in the Indian Ocean near the Maldives early Sunday.

Sightings of the Chinese rocket debris reentering Earth's atmosphere and scorching across the pre-dawn skies were reported in Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

"It is clear that China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris," NASA Administrator Sen. Bill Nelson said in a statement.

Nelson said all spacefaring nations must be transparent in their operations regarding the reentry of objects from space in order to minimize the risks to people and property on Earth.

"It is critical that China and all spacefaring nations and commercial entities act responsibly and transparently in space to ensure the safety, stability, security, and long-term sustainability of outer space activities," Nelson said.

China's official Xinhua News Agency reported that reentry occurred Sunday at 10:24 a.m. Beijing time.

"The vast majority of items were burned beyond recognition during the reentry process," the report said.

Emotions on social media ranged from jokes to sighs of relief following confirmation that the rocket had crashed down after its uncontrolled descent was tracked around the world over the past week.

The Long March 5B rocket carried the main module of China’s first permanent space station — Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony — into orbit on April 29. The roughly 100-foot long rocket stage is among the biggest space debris to fall to Earth.

Discarded rocket stages typically reenter the atmosphere over a body of water soon after liftoff and don’t go into orbit. It is unclear why China put the rocket part into space.

China plans 10 more launches to carry additional parts of the space station into orbit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[FBD]

It is unclear why China put the rocket part into space.

probably because their rockets are like their aircraft carriers, not quite up to par so you have to overkill some things