The particular Chinese Long March 5B rocket is now expected to reenter Earth's own atmosphere at an estimated date of May 8. The thing is, as of the moment, nobody knows where the rocket will crash.
Chinese Rocket Expected to Crash
As of the moment, it still seems like something that can only be seen in an action movie or even the plotline for one of Bruce Willis' movies. This was according to the statement coming from the official Pentagon on Tuesday noting that it is now tracking a huge Chinese rocket that is reportedly out of control and is also expected to reenter Earth's own atmosphere sometime this weekend.
The official US Space Command is now tracking the rocket's trajectory. This was according to the statement by Mike Howard, the Defense Department spokesperson. As of the moment, their expectations are that the Chinese Long MArch 5B rockets are currently expected at "around May 8."
Time of Entry is Unknown
Howard reportedly stated that the rocket's exact point of entry will not yet be known until just within a couple of hours of reentry. As of the moments, the updates regarding the whereabouts of the rocket will be consistently uploaded to the Space Track website.
According to the story by CNet, Aerospace.org is also another website tracking the rocket, as of Tuesday evening, was able to predict that the arrival of the Chinese rocket could happen on May 8 around 9:30 PM PT. The predictions, however, could change at any time in the future.
Astrophysicist Says Don't Worry
A certain astrophysicist at the Astrophysics Center at Harvard University, Jonathan McDowell, noted to CNN that the risk that the rocket will hit people on earth is extremely tiny and that he advises people not to lose any second of sleep over this. Since the Pacitif Ocean covers a huge part of the Earth, it was stated that the debris will most likely just splash down somewhere around the Pacific waters.
McDowell also reportedly adjusted the time period when the rocket's debris is expected to arrive somewhere between May 8 to May 10. The rocket previously helped launch the Chinese Tianhe, the core module in the country's new, next-generation space station last April 28.
China's Moves in Space
The space base is reportedly scheduled to be completed at some time late in 2022 in order to serve as a sort of scientific research outpost for China over the course of the next decade. It was reportedly the only other operational space habitat that existed outside of the official International Space Station.
Back in 2018, however, another similar event actually took place. This was when China's very own out-of-control Tiangong-1 space station suddenly re-entered the atmosphere right over the ocean somewhere near Tahiti. No one was reportedly injured and the scattered debris had either burned up or maybe found a new home on the simple floor of the south Pacitic.
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Written by Urian B.
