'Out of Control' Chinese Rocket Debris Falling... Possibly Reaching Earth on the Night of the 4th

Changzheng-5B weighing 21t launched carrying experimental module Mengtian
South Korean Embassy in China says "Almost no possibility of falling on the Korean Peninsula"

On the 31st (local time), the Changzheng-5BY4 rocket carrying the Mengtian laboratory module was launched from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan Province, southern China. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Junran] Debris from China's space launch vehicle 'Changzheng-5B' rocket is expected to fall to Earth as early as the evening of the 4th. The government has preliminarily determined that South Korea is not included in the expected crash zone.

The Korean Embassy in China announced on the 3rd, based on analysis data from the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, that "the debris of China's Changzheng-5B rocket is expected to fall to Earth between 9:58 PM on the 4th and 9:58 PM on the 5th."

It added, "As of noon on the 2nd, the analysis results show that the expected crash range is between 41.47 degrees south latitude and 41.47 degrees north latitude," and "South Korea is outside the expected crash trajectory." The embassy stated that it will continue to monitor any orbital changes.

The Changzheng-5B is a space launch vehicle measuring 22.5 meters in height and weighing 21 tons. It was launched on the morning of October 31 from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in Hainan, China, carrying the experimental laboratory module Mengtian for the space station, and is currently falling to Earth in an uncontrolled state.

Typically, rocket debris burns up due to frictional heat upon entering the atmosphere and disappears before reaching the ground. However, some fragments that do not burn completely may fall to the surface, and especially because of the large mass of the Changzheng-5B, the entire world is closely watching the debris fall trajectory of the Changzheng-5B.

The Aerospace Corporation, a U.S. nonprofit scientific organization in the aviation field, predicted that some debris could fall in the central and southern United States, southern Europe, South America, India, China, Africa, and Australia.

Cho Sung-ki, head of the Space Hazard Monitoring Center at the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, said, "We are closely monitoring the descent situation," and "We are continuously updating observational data and conducting predictions and analyses."

Meanwhile, in May, debris from a rocket independently launched by China fell into the Indian Ocean. Most parts were corroded and disappeared during atmospheric entry. Also, in July, some remaining parts of a Chinese rocket that had burned fell into the Philippine Sea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.