Jakarta –
China refute the claim that rocket that will crash Month on March 4th is his. This Chinese response extends the mystery of the space object’s owner.
The rocket has been of interest since astronomer and space tracker Bill Gray first predicted it would hit the Moon after years in space. Gray initially identified the object as part of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket that carried NOAA’s satellite into space in 2015.
After further analysis, Gray admitted that he had misidentified the rocket and that it was part of the Chinese rocket that launched the Chang’e 5-T1 mission in 2014. This claim is supported by data from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a team from the University of Arizona.
But China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that the rocket carrying the Chang’e 5-T1 was destroyed immediately after launch.
“According to Chinese surveillance, the upper stage rocket associated with the Chang’e-5 mission entered Earth’s atmosphere and burned completely,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, as quoted by Space, Wednesday (23/2/2022).
China itself has been criticized several times for not being able to safely control its space junk. The most recent case includes uncontrolled re-entry rocket Long March 5B in May 2021 which fortunately didn’t cause any casualties.
Wang stressed that China already understands international space standards regarding the disposal of space debris, which can cause collisions in orbit or cause damage when they fall to Earth.
“China’s aerospace efforts have always been in accordance with international law. We are committed to earnestly safeguarding the long-term sustainability of space activities and are ready to carry out extensive exchanges and cooperation with all parties,” Wang said.
Interestingly, Wang said the rockets already burning in the atmosphere were from the Chang’e-5 mission. Whereas Gray and other astronomers claimed the rocket was from the Chang’e 5-T1 mission, a different mission.
Chang’e 5-T1 is a precursor mission to test technology for the launch of the Chang’e-5 mission in 2020. The Chang’e-5 mission was launched to bring back rock samples from the Moon and its booster did burn up in the atmosphere, according to data. Gray.
Meanwhile, the booster from Chang’e 5-T1, according to observations from the 18th Space Control Squadron Space Force, was already burning in the atmosphere in October 2015. But according to Gray, the data is less accurate because 18SPCS only provides one update about the direction of the trajectory. rocket after the mission was launched.
“During the course of the year (2014), the Chang’e-5T1 booster will be well out of radar range. So I highly doubt 18-SPCS will actually track it,” Gray said.
Watch Videos “Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Will Hit the Moon“
[Gambas:Video 20detik]
(vmp / fyk)
–
