“According to the latest estimates that I have seen, it is scheduled for May 8 or 9,” the US defense minister said at a press conference. “At this point, we have no plans to destroy the rocket,” he added. “We hope she falls somewhere where she doesn’t harm anyone, in the ocean or somewhere like that, we hope.”
The risks on Earth “extremely low”, according to Beijing
The Chinese rocket which is due to make an uncontrolled re-entry into the atmosphere this weekend does not present any risk for the inhabitants on Earth, assured Friday Beijing, after criticism of the United States on a potential danger.
“The probability of causing damage […] ground level is extremely weak, ”Chinese diplomacy spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters.
China on Thursday launched the first of three elements of its space station, the “CSS”, which was powered by a Long March 5B rocket. It is the body of this rocket that is due to land in the next few days, and no one knows where. “It’s almost the body of the rocket, if I understood correctly. It is almost intact “, he added, specifying that the re-entry into the atmosphere is planned” around Saturday “.
[⚛️] Replay du live @CGTNOfficial, with the launch of #Tianhe : the first module of the Chinese space station! ???????????? https://t.co/yiknHKj2dC #futurasciences pic.twitter.com/hTSdR70XO3
– Futura – Explore the world (@futurasciences) April 29, 2021
After the separation of the space module, the launcher began to orbit the planet in an irregular trajectory, slowly losing altitude, making any prediction about its point of entry into the atmosphere, and therefore its point of fall, almost impossible.
It is possible that it will decay on entry into the atmosphere, leaving only limited debris to crash. And if it remains whole, the planet being 70% water, there is a good chance that the rocket will be damaged in the sea, but it is not sure. It could crash into a populated area or onto a ship.
Not the first time
Without naming the Chinese authorities by name, Austin hinted that the Chinese rocket launch had not been planned carefully enough. “This is a testament to the fact that, for those of us operating in space, there is – or there should be – an obligation to operate in a safe and thoughtful manner and to take all of this into account when planning operations, ”he added.
This is not the first time that China has lost control of a spacecraft upon its return to earth. In April 2018, a Tiangong-1 space laboratory disintegrated on re-entry into the atmosphere, two years after it ceased to function. The Chinese authorities had denied that the laboratory had escaped their control.
(The essential / AFP)
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