The 25-ton (22.5 metric tons) core stage of a Long March 5B rocket re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean this afternoon (July 30), ending its brief but controversial orbital sojourn. “#USSPACECOM can confirm that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Long March 5B (CZ-5B) re-entered over the Indian Ocean at approximately 10:45am MDT [12:45 p.m. EDT; 1645 GMT] on 7/30,” the US Space Administration announced via Twitter today (opens in new tab). “We refer you to #PRC for more details on the technical aspects of re-entry, including possible debris dispersal + impact site.” A meteorite has been spotted in Kuching! #jalanbako 31/7/2022 pic.twitter.com/ff8b2zI2sw July 30, 2022 See more Long March 5B lifted off on July 24, carrying a new module to China’s under-construction Tiangong space station. Unlike the core stages of most rockets, which are driven into a safe disposition shortly after launch or soft-landed for future reuse, the Long March 5B arrived in orbit with its payload. And it remained upright – as a large, fast-moving piece of space junk – until atmospheric gravity destroyed it in an unpredictable and uncontrollable way. Mission managers didn’t screw anything up. this end-of-life scenario is built into Long March 5B’s design, much to the consternation of exploration advocates and much of the wider spaceflight community. This jettisoning strategy is reckless, critics say, given that the large rocket does not burn up completely on reentry. Suspected missile debris in Sibu Sarawak area pic.twitter.com/xIROJGM0PD July 30, 2022 See more Indeed, 5.5 to 9.9 tons (5 to 9 metric tons) of Long March 5B likely survived to the ground today, experts at The Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Orbital Reentry and Debris Studies estimate (opens in new tab). And it’s possible that falling rocket fragments caused some injuries or infrastructure damage today, given where Long March 5B re-entered. An observer appeared to record the missile’s breakup from Kuching, in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, for example, posting video of the dramatic event on Twitter (opens in new tab). “The footage from Kuching suggests it was high in the atmosphere at the time – any debris would have landed hundreds of kilometers further along the track, near Sibu, Bintulu or even Brunei,” astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said via Twitter today (opens in new tab). It is “unlikely but not impossible” for one or more pieces to hit a population center, he added in another tweet (opens in new tab). Chinese space officials, for their part, said (opens in new tab) that the missile’s body returned to 119.0 degrees east longitude and 9.1 degrees north latitude. This location is over the open ocean, just off the coast of the island of Palawan, which is part of the Philippines. We’ll have to wait a bit to see exactly where the missile debris landed. But the fact that the crash happened at all does not reflect well on China and its space flight program, experts say. “What really should have happened is that there should have been some fuel left on board to do a controlled re-entry,” Darren McKnight, senior technical associate at California-based tracking company LeoLabs, said on Thursday (July 28). . Long re-entry discussion on March 5 that The Aerospace Corporation broadcast live on Twitter. “That would be the responsible thing to do.” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson expressed similar sentiments, calling out China in a statement issued today (opens in new tab) shortly after the re-entry. “The People’s Republic of China (PRC) did not share specific trajectory information as the Long March 5B rocket fell back to Earth,” Nelson said. “All space transport nations should follow established best practices and do their part to share this kind of information in advance to allow reliable predictions of potential debris impact risk, especially for heavy vehicles like the Long March 5B , which pose a significant risk of loss of life and property,” he added. “This is critical to the responsible use of space and to ensuring the safety of people here on Earth.” This was the third uncontrolled fall for a Long March 5B base stage to date. About 10 days after the missile’s first launch, in May 2020, pieces of the missile body rained back to Earth over West Africa, some of which apparently landed in Ivory Coast (opens in new tab). The rocket’s second flight, in April 2021, lifted Tianhe, the core module of the Tiangong space station. This body of Long March 5B came back over the Arabian Peninsula about a week after liftoff, shedding debris over the Indian Ocean. The rocket will fly again soon, too: A Long March 5B is expected to launch the third and final Tiangong module this fall. There will probably be more trashy Chinese space drama after this, but maybe not for much longer. “I see China slowly adopting other countries’ rules in space,” McDowell said during Thursday’s Aerospace Corporation discussion. “And I think it’s important to remember that they were kind of latecomers to space activities,” McDowell added. “And so they’re catching up, and I think they’re getting closer to the norms as well.” Editor’s note: This story was updated at 3:30 p.m. EDT on July 30 to include the statement from Chinese officials about where the missile body re-entered. Mike Wall is the author of Out There (opens in new tab) (Grand Central Publishing, 2018, illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for extraterrestrial life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in a new tab) or Facebook (opens in a new tab).
