Chinese Space rocket debris crashes back to earth over Indian Ocean; video goes viral
On Saturday, several individuals posted footage of meteor showers on social media. The videos depict breathtaking displays of red, blue, and yellow lighting up the night sky as passersby pull out their cameras to record the event. The pyrotechnics, however, were really burning pieces of a Chinese rocket that had reentered the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.
FollowA Chinese rocket that was disintegrating over Kuching, Malaysia, was caught on camera by a social media user. Launched on July 24, the Long March-5B Y3 rocket came back to Earth on Saturday and landed in the Indian Ocean.
On Saturday, several individuals posted footage of meteor showers on social media. The videos depict breathtaking displays of red, blue, and yellow lighting up the night sky as passersby pull out their cameras to record the event. The pyrotechnics, however, were really burning pieces of a Chinese rocket that had reentered the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.
"USSPACECOM can confirm that on July 30 at around 10:45 am MDT, the People's Republic of China (PRC) Long March 5B (CZ-5B) re-entered over the Indian Ocean. For further information on the technical characteristics of the reentry, such as a probable debris dispersal+ impact site, we suggest you to the PRC," US Space Command sent a tweet.
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Numerous people in east and southeast Asia saw the captivating display over the night sky. While many people posted videos thinking it was a meteor shower, astronauts and scientists were eager to refute this and clarify.
The Long March-5B Y3 carrier rocket, weighing 23 tonnes, was launched by China on July 24, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
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China was strongly criticised by NASA administrator Bill Nelson for not managing the safe reentry of their rockets. "All spacefaring nations should follow established best practices, and do their part to share this type of information in advance," Nelson tweeted, "to allow reliable predictions of potential debris impact risk, especially for heavy-lift vehicles, like the Long March 5B, which carry a significant risk of loss of life and property."
The Chinese embassy in Washington declined to react right away. China stated earlier this week that it will watch the debris attentively but claimed that there was no danger to anyone on the ground. The Long March 5B, China's most potent rocket, launched on July 24 to carry a laboratory module to the new Chinese space station being built in orbit. This was the rocket's third trip since its initial launch in 2020.
