Some debris of rocket big belongs China that have fallen to Earth over the past week have been found in Southeast Asia, to be precise in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Launch space, The core of the Long March 5B rocket, which weighs 25 tons (22.5 metric tons), crashed to Earth uncontrollably on Saturday (30/1). He fell over the Indian Ocean, with most of his gliders on fire as he fell.
But about 20-40% of the piece survived. These parts fell in, among other places, Kalimantan, Indonesia and Sarawak, Malaysia.
The coins were found by local residents in various locations. Some of them are large enough to cause injury to the public if they fall into the settlements.
In Kalimantan, rocket debris fell on a plantation belonging to a resident of Pengadang village, Sanggau Regency, West Kalimantan. This was confirmed by the head of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Sanggau Regency, Siron.
However, there were no casualties from the falling rocket.
“So in summary CZ-5B, significant debris fell in Kalimantan, Indonesia, and Sarawak, Malaysia. There were no casualties or property damage, but the debris was near the village and the story could have been different,” said the astrophysicist. and the Jonathan McDowell satellite tracker from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
The Long March 5B rocket was launched on Wednesday (24/7) in Wenchang. The rocket carries the final module of China’s first permanent space station, Tiangong, which is under construction.
The rocket core actually reached orbit with the module. Then it is brought back to Earth by an atmospheric tugboat over the next six days.
The escape strategy – uncontrollable and unpredictable destruction from orbit – is unique to large rockets. Typically, the rocket core is set for safe destruction in the ocean or a sparsely populated area after launch.
However, the scenario that occurs on the Long March 5B rocket is quite unique due to the potential for injury it brings with every launch. For this reason, many members of the space community have criticized Chinese space authorities for allowing the core of the Long March 5B to become trash and chunks in space, which happened in their three missions. rocket to date.
“What’s supposed to happen is that there has to be fuel left in the rocket to control reentry,” said Darren McKnight of LeoLabs, a California-based rocket tracking company.
“It’s a responsible thing to do,” he added.
On the other hand, criticism also came from the administrator of the United States Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Bill Nelson. “The People’s Republic of China did not share specific information about the trajectories when its Long March 5B rocket landed on Earth,” Nelson said. Washington Post.
“All countries on a space mission should follow current best practices and share information in this regard to enable predictions on the risk of debris, especially from heavy vehicles, such as the Long March 5B,” he said. added.
“This is crucial for the responsible use of outer space and for ensuring the safety of people on Earth,” Nelson said.
This is not the first time that debris from a Long March 5B rocket has fallen anywhere. In May 2020, the first rocket of the Long March 5B mission crashed in Ivory Coast. Then debris also fell in the Indian Ocean in April 2021 during a second mission.
[Gambas:Video CNN]
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