China’s space flight agency reported on Saturday (30) that the remains of the 23-ton Long March 5B rocket, which took off for the Asian country’s space station on Sunday (24), entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the sea in the southwestern Philippines, with the “great majority” of the debris burning up on re-entry.
The information was confirmed by a statement on the company’s account, on the Chinese social network WeChat.
The event was also commented on by the United States Space Command, which was tracking the spacecraft’s trajectory.
On Twitter, the command said the debris entered the Indian Ocean on Saturday afternoon at around 1:45 pm ET.
NASA administrator Bill Nelson took to Twitter to criticize the lack of information about the case:
“All space nations should follow established best practices, and do their part to share this type of information in advance to allow for credible reviews of potential debris impact risk, especially for heavy vehicles such as the Long March 5B,” he wrote. .
“Doing so is critical to the responsible use of space and ensuring the safety of people here on Earth,” he continued.
…reliable predictions of potential debris impact risk, especially for heavy-lift vehicles, like the Long March 5B, which carry a significant risk of loss of life and property.
Doing so is critical to the responsible use of space and to ensure the safety of people here on Earth.
— Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) July 30, 2022
The entry of debris into the atmosphere was expected to happen on Sunday (31), according to Aerospace Corporation scientists at the Center for the Study of Orbital and Re-entry Debris (Cords).
Projections, however, showed that the debris crossed parts of Mexico and Brazil, then skirted the Cape of Africa before passing overland in Southeast Asia.
Our latest prediction for #CZ5B rocket body reentry is:
🚀30 Jul 2022 17:08 UTC ± 1 hour
Reentry will be along one of the ground tracks shown here. Follow this page for updates:https://t.co/SxrMtcJnj0 pic.twitter.com/zmFX2OJG6N— The Aerospace Corporation (@AerospaceCorp) July 30, 2022
Source: CNN Brasil
