A large segment of a Chinese rocket re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean, the Chinese space agency said, following fevered speculation over where the 18-tonne object would come down.
Chinese rocket debris plunges into Indian Ocean near Maldives – state media
NASA said China had behaved irresponsibly, as an uncontrolled re-entry of such a large object risked damage and casualties. By AFP Sunday 9 May 2021, 7:29 AM 2 hours ago 10,161 Views 6 Comments
The rocket carried a Chinese space station section into orbit.
Image: Associated Press
Image: Associated Press
A LARGE SEGMENT of a Chinese rocket re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean today, the Chinese space agency said, following fevered speculation over where the 18-tonne object would come down.
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 29 April.
China s biggest rocket Long March 5B lands in Indian Ocean Reuters
Remnants of China s biggest rocket landed in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, 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.
Parts of the Long March 5B re-entered the atmosphere at 10:24 a.m. Beijing time (0224 GMT) and landed at a location with the coordinates of longitude 72.47 degrees east and latitude 2.65 degrees north, Chinese state media cited the China Manned Space Engineering Office as saying.
The coordinates put the point of impact in the ocean, west of the Maldives archipelago.
Debris from China’s disintegrating rocket falls into Indian Ocean
PTI
Beijing |
Updated on
May 09, 2021
The remnants of China s Long March 5B rocket re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere at 10.24 am Beijing time and fell into an open sea area at 72.47 degrees east longitude and 2.65 degrees north latitude. Photo: Reuters
The remnants of China s Long March 5B rocket re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere at 10.24 am Beijing time and fell into an open sea area at 72.47 degrees east longitude and 2.65 degrees north latitude. Photo: Reuters×
The rocket was more than 108 feet tall and weighed more than 20 tonnes The remnants of an out of control and China s biggest rocket re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere with most of its parts burned up and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean near the Maldives, the country s space agency said on Sunday, ending days of fevered speculation over where the debris would hit.