Debris from the Chinese rocket that took off for the Asian country’s space station on Sunday (24) is expected to fall to Earth this weekend, according to the US Space Command, which is tracking the spacecraft’s trajectory.
After docking at the Chinese station, the reentry of Long March 5B began an uncontrolled descent into the Earth’s atmosphere.
Initially, tracking showed that the Long March 5B thruster’s Wentian module and another related object from the launch were all in orbit.
Scientists from the Aerospace Corporation at the Center for Orbital and Re-entry Debris Studies (Cords) estimate the object to have a mass of about 23 tons.
According to the corporation, the forecast is that the rocket’s remains will enter the Earth’s atmosphere this Sunday (31), between 4:34 am (Brasilia time) and 7 pm.
Researchers say it’s still too early to determine how much space junk could have a significant impact.
the current situation
Normally, re-entry is a normal process, scientists say. However, the route of the Long March 5B is unusual because, during launch, the rocket’s first stage reached orbital speed rather than dropping downwards, as is common practice.
In this way, the empty rocket body is now in an elliptical orbit around the Earth, where it is being dragged into uncontrolled re-entry, the corporation explained.
Debris spread, known as a “debris footprint,” is not something experts can speculate on at this point, given the degree of uncertainty remaining for the re-entry point, the corporation said. However, any point far from the lines is very unlikely to be at risk from space junk.
Space junk poses an extremely minimal risk to humans, Michael Byers, a professor at the University of British Columbia, previously explained to CNN . However, it is possible that larger parts could cause damage if they reach inhabited regions.
Holger Krag, head of the Space Debris Office at the European Space Agency, said best practice is to carry out a controlled re-entry targeting a remote part of the ocean whenever the risk of accidents is very high.
China came under fire last year for the same reason after launching another module on a similar rocket. At that time, the debris fell into the Indian Ocean, near the Maldives, ten days after launch.
At the time, the Chinese blamed the US for “exaggerating fears” about the rocket’s re-entry and accused US scientists and NASA of “acting against their conscience” and being “anti-intellectual”.
Source: CNN Brasil
