The core fuselage of a Chinese-launched rocket is expected to make an uncontrolled reentry into Earth’s atmosphere on Saturday, May 8. SpaceNews on Tuesday reported that they predicted the rocket would be difficult to track until hours before it began to reenter Earth’s upper atmosphere.
The rocket in question, the Long March 5B, will be one of the largest spacecraft to ever make an uncontrolled re-entry into the atmosphere. This has led to fears that it could hurtle back to Earth over an inhabited area. Typically, in controlled reentries, researchers try to steer spacecraft to splash down over the ocean in order to avoid disrupting the activity of people on land.
What Was the Rocket’s Mission?
The Long March 5B was launched as the first leg of China’s burgeoning space station project. The station in question is a joint venture between Russia and China. According to early reports from researchers, the station’s mission will be to eventually construct a lunar base to research the Moon. The Russian space agency Roscosmos stated that it had partnered with China’s space administration, the CNSA, to create the station either in orbit or on the surface of the Moon.
While neither China nor Russia have set any time-related goals for the project, the work of creating the station is already underway. In 2024, China is expected to launch the Change’e-7 mission, a rocket that will be touching down on the Moon’s Southern Pole.
Notably, Russia is already a partner with NASA in the International Space Station. The Chinese Space Agency, however, is unable to cooperate with NASA due to US laws regarding space exploration.
Uncontrolled Reentry
The Long March 5B, at the time of this writing, is in a close orbit with Earth. It’s whizzing past the planet once every ninety minutes, making its exact reentry difficult to guess at. The speed with which it orbits the planet means that it’s likely to reenter at speeds fast enough to burn up most of its mass.
However, even without fuel, the rocket weighs some 21 metric tons. While space agencies have noted that the rocket is unlikely to touch down over inhabited land, the possibility that it could is serious enough that it bears continuous monitoring.
SpaceNews went on to note that updates about the rocket’s reentry will be available as it gets closer to falling back into the atmosphere. Due to its fast orbit, the rocket could threaten almost anywhere on the planet, making this a story that everyone will need to be informed about.
