Chinese rocket “out of control” falling to Earth

AGI – A Chinese rocket is out of control It re-enters the atmosphere: The exact timing and point of impact are not known, but China is assured that the risk of damage to the Earth is “very low”, in fact “very low”, but not zero. Even experts agree No need to worry too much, But many notice that something went wrong with the Chinese space mission.

Once back in the atmosphere, the rocket went out of control for several days. Predictably it will be completely distorted; Some debris may fall somewhere on Earth, but since the surface of the planet is 70% water it is likely to fall into the ocean.

The Asian company put the first batch of its space station into orbit on April 29, thanks to the rocket, which was very powerful and imposed into the hands of the Chinese. The vector is approaching the earth, It gradually loses height, but now the point of impact is unknown.

China, very sensible in this matter, has not announced any possible predictions of a re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, where it should be completely or partially distorted.

In Beijing, Chinese diplomats and aerospace officials remained silent for a long time, and finally finally spoke out on Friday: a Foreign Ministry spokesman assured that “the chances of air operations and ground damage are slim.” Authorities will report the situation immediately. ”

“Hour” hypotheses on return

Uncertainty over uncontrolled return of Chinese space missile to atmosphere has decreased. “The long March 5b ”is scheduled for tonight. This was reported by the Department of Civil Defense, which assembles the technical schedule based on the latest data provided by the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

At the moment, there are three lanes that could affect certain sections of the nine central-southern Italian regions from 2 to 7 pm Italian time on Sunday. Representatives of interested regions participated in the technical table, sharing analyzes and updates on the evolution of operations with the regions, as well as the operational structures of the National Civil Defense Service.

The Civil Defense note reminds us that the probability that one or more pieces may fall in our area is remote. However, the technical table will continue to follow the evolution of the situation with the available data until the impact of the land.

On the other hand, the European Union Space Surveillance and Surveillance Service (EUSST) set the expected time for Italian dawn to be 04:11 (with an error margin of more than six hours, three hours before and three hours after).

Descendants of the Rocket

The size of the object – which has an estimated mass of 17 to 21 tons and a range of about 30 meters, and the speed at which it moves, is about 28 thousand kilometers – around the world, including the Pentagon and the U.S.

The European Union Space Surveillance Service (an international consortium of various space agencies and public organizations from various European countries) has been monitoring its trajectory for days: its sensors and radars “closely” observed the rocket. Every time it crosses the sky European in its orbit; Confirmed it was falling and the most up-to-date data of its slope indicate it Debris falls on the earth’s oceans or uninhabited areas, And the statistical probability of impact in populated areas is “low”.

In particular, if you look at this path, collision-resistant debris could fall somewhere along the 41st parallel, probably in the Atlantic, Pacific or Indian Oceans.

Reactions

Beijing has been quiet and the Chinese media has provided minimal security for the event, limiting themselves to reporting the words of a diplomatic spokesman.

Further The Pentagon is closely following the rocket But in recent days, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has announced that the United States has no intention of dismantling it to prevent harm; China pointed out that its launch site was not carefully planned.

Even for experts, there is a risk of littering in a residential area, but it is not possible. But it is not a good practice for a ton of pieces of metal to fall to the ground at a speed of hundreds of kilometers per hour.

Previous

This is not the first time: in 2020, another Long March rocket crashed and caused damage in an area of ​​villages in Ivory Coast, but fortunately no injuries. The Tiankang-1 space laboratory crashed when it re-entered the atmosphere in 2018, two years after operations ceased (but Chinese authorities have always refused to lose control of the spacecraft).

China has invested billions of dollars in its most valuable space program: it sent its first astronaut into space in 2003, and a Chinese probe landed far from the moon in 2019, the first in the world.

Last year, Chinese scientists brought back samples from the moon and completed Baidu, its satellite navigation system (a competitor to the US GPS). In the coming weeks, they plan to place a small robot on wheels on Mars. Also, the Chinese space agency has announced plans with Russia to build a base on the moon.