China s Long March 5B rocket, launched on April 29 - AAP
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Remnants of China s biggest rocket have landed in the Indian Ocean, with most ending days of speculation over where the debris would hit Earth.
The coordinates given by Chinese state media put the point of impact in the ocean, west of the Maldives archipelago.
The China Manned Space Engineering Office says most of the debris was burnt up in the atmosphere.
State media reported parts of the rocket re-entered the atmosphere at 12.24 AEST and landed at a location with the coordinates of longitude 72.47 degrees east and latitude 2.65 degrees north.
The current trajectory puts the space junk in the Pacific Ocean north-east of New Zealand. But the projections are highly uncertain. It is impossible to predict where or when the debris will hit the Earth, and variations of just a few minutes could change the re-entry point by thousands of kilometres. Much of the rocket section is likely to burn up in the intense heat created as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere, but given the size of the segment, some debris could make it to the ground. While any debris that does make it through will most likely fall into the ocean or onto areas of uninhabited land, it is possible some could fall over inhabited areas.
The debris from an out-of-control Chinese rocket has broken through Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean. The Chinese National Space Agency confirmed the Long March 5B rocket re-entered over the Indian Ocean at 02.24 UTC (2.24pm New Zealand time) on Sunday, southwest of Sri Lanka. The Aerospace Corporation also posted on Twitter saying the rocket was down, after earlier forecasts suggested the rocket would land in the ocean near the North Island
Guo Wenbin/AP
The Long March-5B Y2 rocket, carrying a module of China’s space station, on the launching pad last month. A 30-metre core section of the rocket is expected to make an uncontrolled re-entry on Sunday.
China rocket debris lands in ocean, draws NASA criticism
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By Ryan Woo
12.38pm
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Beijing: Remnants of China’s biggest rocket have landed in the Indian Ocean, with the bulk of its components destroyed upon re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, according to Chinese state media, ending days of speculation over where the debris would hit.
The co-ordinates given by state media on Sunday, citing the China Manned Space Engineering Office, put the point of impact in the ocean, west of the Maldives archipelago.
Out-of-control rocket: North Island named as latest crash location
8 May, 2021 04:50 AM
4 minutes to read
North Island named as informed prediction for where Chinese rocket debris will land. Photo / via The Aerospace Corporation
North Island named as informed prediction for where Chinese rocket debris will land. Photo / via The Aerospace Corporation
NZ Herald
Calculations into where a section of an out-of-control rocket will land this weekend have been updated - and New Zealand s North Island is the latest informed prediction .
But don t panic - China s foreign ministry said most debris from the rocket will be burned up on re-entry and is highly unlikely to cause any harm. Experts added that pinpointing the re-entry location was extremely difficult and debris is likely to land in the ocean.