{"id":245729,"date":"2021-05-09T12:18:59","date_gmt":"2021-05-09T09:18:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/large-chinese-rocket-segment-disintegrates-over-indian-ocean\/"},"modified":"2021-05-09T12:18:59","modified_gmt":"2021-05-09T09:18:59","slug":"large-chinese-rocket-segment-disintegrates-over-indian-ocean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/large-chinese-rocket-segment-disintegrates-over-indian-ocean\/","title":{"rendered":"#Large Chinese rocket segment disintegrates over Indian Ocean"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Large Chinese rocket segment disintegrates over Indian Ocean<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\n A large segment of the Chinese Long March-5B rocket\u2014seen here during launch on April 29, 2021\u2014has re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean
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A large segment of a Chinese rocket re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean on Sunday, the Chinese space agency said, following fevered speculation over where the 18-tonne object would come down.<\/p>\n


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Officials in Beijing had said there was little risk from the freefalling segment of the Long March-5B rocket, which had launched the first module of China’s new space station into Earth orbit on April 29.<\/p>\n

But the US space agency NASA and some experts said China had behaved irresponsibly, as an uncontrolled re-entry of such a large object risked damage and casualties.<\/p>\n

“After monitoring and analysis, at 10:24 (0224 GMT) on May 9, 2021, the last-stage wreckage of the Long March 5B Yao-2 launch vehicle has re-entered the atmosphere,” the China Manned Space Engineering Office said in a statement, providing coordinates for a point in the Indian Ocean near the Maldives.<\/p>\n

It added that most of the segment disintegrated and was destroyed during descent.<\/p>\n

The US military’s Space Command said the rocket “re-entered over the Arabian Peninsula at app<\/a>roximately 10:15 pm EDT on May 8 (0215 GMT Sunday)”.<\/p>\n

“It is unknown if the debris impacted land or water.”<\/p>\n

Monitoring service Space-Track, which uses US military data, said that the location in Saudi Arabia was where American systems last recorded it.<\/p>\n

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\n China has poured billions into its ambitious space programme
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“Operators confirm that the rocket actually went into the Indian Ocean north of the Maldives,” it tweeted.<\/p>\n

The segment’s descent matched expert predictions that any debris would have splashed down into the ocean, given that 70 percent of the planet is covered by water.<\/p>\n

Because it was an uncontrolled descent, there was widespread public interest and speculation about where the debris would land.<\/p>\n

American and European space authorities were among those tracking the rocket and trying to predict its re-entry.<\/p>\n

Accusations of negligence<\/b><\/p>\n

Objects generate immense amounts of heat and friction when they enter the atmosphere, which can cause them to burn up and disintegrate. But larger ones such as the Long March-5B may not be destroyed entirely.<\/p>\n

Their wreckage can land on the surface of the planet and may cause damage and casualties, though that risk is low.<\/p>\n

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\n NASA administrator Bill Nelson said China had failed to ‘meet responsible standards regarding their space debris’
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Last year, debris from another Chinese Long March rocket fell on villages in the Ivory Coast, causing structural damage but no injuries or deaths.<\/p>\n

That, and the one that came down Sunday, are tied for the fourth-biggest objects in history to undergo an uncontrolled re-entry, according to data from Harvard-based astronomer Jonathan McDowell.<\/p>\n

The uncertainty and risks of such a re-entry sparked accusations that Beijing had behaved irresponsibly.<\/p>\n

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin suggested last week that China had been negligent, and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson echoed that after the re-entry on Sunday.<\/p>\n

“Spacefaring nations must minimize the risks to people and property on Earth of re-entries of space objects and maximize transparency regarding those operations,” Nelson said in a statement.<\/p>\n

“It is clear that China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris.”<\/p>\n

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\n Fact file on China’s propective space station, scheduled to be operational by 2022
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China’s space ambitions<\/b><\/p>\n

To avoid such scenarios, some experts have recommended a redesign of the Long March-5B rocket\u2014which is not equipped for a controlled descent.<\/p>\n

“An ocean reentry was always statistically the most likely,” McDowell tweeted.<\/p>\n

“It appears China won its gamble (unless we get news<\/a> of debris in the Maldives). But it was still reckless.”<\/p>\n

Chinese authorities had downplayed the risk, however.<\/p>\n

“The probability of causing harm to aviation activities or (on people and activities) on the ground is extremely low,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Friday.<\/p>\n

Beijing has poured billions of dollars into space exploration to boost its global stature and technological might.<\/p>\n

The launch of the first module of its space station\u2014by the Long March rocket that came down Sunday\u2014was a milestone in its ambitious plan to establish a permanent human presence in space.<\/p>\n\n

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Chinese rocket to tumble back to Earth in uncontrolled re-entry\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \u00a9 2021 AFP<\/p>\n

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Citation<\/strong>:
\n Large Chinese rocket segment disintegrates over Indian Ocean (2021, May 9)
\n retrieved 9 May 2021
\n from https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2021-05-large-chinese-rocket-segment-disintegrates.html<\/p>\n

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