On October 31, China’s Long March 5B Yao-4 carrier rocket took off and launched the Mengtian experimental module module of China’s Tiangong space station.
Although the experimental module was successfully separated from the rocket and entered the predetermined orbit, the abandoned Long March rocket once again threatened the ground due to the loss of control.
According to tracking, the rocket is expected to re-enter the atmosphere at 10:21 p.m. ET on November 4, and the crash site is unknown.
Tiangong Space Station is China’s own modular space station system built from 2021.
It is mainly composed of Tianhe core cabin, Wentian experimental cabin, and Mengtian experimental cabin.
- On April 29, 2021, the Long March 5B rocket took the lead in launching the Tianhe core module.
- On July 24, 2022, the Long March 5B rocket launched the Wentian experimental module, and successfully docked with the core module the next day.
- On October 31 this year, another Long March 5B Yao-4 carrier rocket took off, sending the Mengtian experimental module to the predetermined orbit and docking with the core module the next day.
But China is good at launching rockets but not good at handling rocket debris.
Most rockets will re-fire away from populated areas and fall back to Earth in a controlled manner because they are not designed to reach orbit.
However, China’s heavy rockets do not have such precautions. After the launch day and core module last year.
The abandoned Long March 5B Yao-2 carrier rocket has been criticized for spinning out of control in orbit, crashing back to Earth and its path unknown.
Unexpectedly, after the Mengtian experimental module was launched at the end of last month, the one-time Long March 5B Yao-2 rocket lost control again.
According to the tracking report, the abandoned 20-ton rocket is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere uncontrollably at 10:21 ET on November 4.
The process took about 16 hours, and the outside world had to continue to track to speculate where China’s abandoned core-stage rocket might land.
Although the chances of rocket debris falling into populated areas are small, accidents are always unexpected.
