On Saturday night, the World Astronomical Center released a video from Malaysia that captured the moment the wreckage of the Chinese missile fell.
Urgent: A video filmed minutes ago in Malaysia documents the moment the wreckage of the Chinese missile fell. #Chinese_rocket_missile pic.twitter.com/GeqxYuxNjV
– International Astronomy Center (@AstronomyCenter) July 30, 2022
The debris is expected to land in the eastern Indian Ocean near Indonesia today, July 30, 2022 at 16:49 GMT plus 10 minutes, or after about a quarter of an hour, the center said.
A few days ago, the US Space Command revealed that it is tracking the remains of the 23-ton Chinese Long March 5B rocket that launched the Chinese space laboratory unit “Ventiane” into space on Sunday, July 24, and is returning to space. The land is out of control
After the successful mission, the rocket had an uncontrolled descent into the Earth’s atmosphere, “and it is unclear where it will fall,” according to CNN, citing the US Space Command.
According to a spokesman for the US command said that it is following the fall of the Chinese missile.
The spokesman said that based on changing weather conditions, the rocket’s entry point into the Earth’s atmosphere “can only be determined a few hours before its entry”, but revealed that it is estimated to enter the atmosphere on August 1.
He revealed that the 18th Space Defense Squadron, which is part of the US military, is tracking the entry and providing daily updates on its location.
The uncontrolled landing, described by Columbia University professor Michael Byers, who conducted recent research on the casualty risk of space debris, marks the third time Chinese rockets have failed to make a balanced landing, further evidence of this. . The truth of the accusations against Beijing that it does not properly deal with space debris.
Byers explained that space debris poses little risk to humans, but larger pieces can cause damage if they land in populated areas.
Because of the increase in space debris, he said, these mini-opportunities are becoming more likely, especially in the Global South, according to research published in the journal Nature Astronomy, where the probability of rocket objects landing has nearly tripled.
“This risk can be completely avoided because the technologies that exist now provide for controlled re-entry processes (usually in remote areas of the ocean) rather than uncontrolled and therefore completely random re-entry processes,” he added in an interview with CNN. “
Without an active control system and without an engine that could be restarted to bring it back to Earth, the rocket is expected to spin around and eventually burn up, said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Due to friction with the atmosphere
Last year, China was criticized for its handling of space debris after another unit launched a similar missile, the remains of which sank in the Indian Ocean near the Maldives 10 days after launch.
NASA stated that China “does not meet internationally accepted standards in this regard.”
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at the time: “Spacecraft nations must reduce the risks posed by reentry of space objects to people and property on Earth and increase transparency about these operations.”
In response to the criticism, China blamed the United States for “stirring up fear” about the re-entry of the missiles and accused American scientists and NASA of “working against it.”
In 2020, a Chinese rocket core weighing nearly 20 tons will uncontrollably re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere, passing directly over Los Angeles and New York City’s Central Park before plunging into the Atlantic Ocean.
Space debris such as old satellites periodically enters the Earth’s atmosphere, although most of it goes unnoticed because it burns up long before hitting Earth.
But larger space debris, such as spacecraft and rocket fragments, pose a “minor” risk to humans and infrastructure on Earth.
Source: Lebanon Debate
