21-Ton Chinese Rocket is Falling to the Earth, But Scientists Can't Predict Where and When it Will Hit

A huge Chinese rocket is currently approaching the Earth at the moment. Scientists said that it's moving in an uncontrollable place, yet they still do not know where and when it will land.

Unpredictable Chinese Rocket

Up to this moment, scientists still have no clue regarding the location or the time of the Chinese rocket's landing on the Earth.

On Sunday, July 24, the Wentian space station module successfully docked with the Tiangong space station. However, some experts grow concerned about the rocket that will be disposed of since it could be a "worse" one.

According to Space.com, this is the third time that China has been criticized for its irresponsible rocket disposal.

Back then, its disposal of the Long Match 5B rocket stage had caught a lot of attention. Some people said that these uncontrolled falls could result in a pile of space debris on the planet.

US Fares Better Than China When it Comes to Rocket Disposal

Jonathan McDowell from the Astrophysics department of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center made huge progress in tracking the Chinese rocket.

According to him, American launches perform a "better job" when disposing of the upper stage of a rocket than China does.

"Two objects cataloged from the CZ-5B launch: 53239 / 2022-085A in a 166 x 318 km x 41.4 deg orbit, 53240 / 2022-085B in a 182 x 299 km x 41.4 deg orbit. Orbital epoch of ~1200 UTC confirms that the inert 21t rocket core stage remains in orbit and was not actively deorbited," McDowell tweeted.

In an emailed interview with Gizmodo, McDowell said that there's no way that they could predict when or where the rocket will hit the Earth.

Additionally, the astronomer added that the 21-ton rocket stage shouldn't be neglected by just allowing it to create an "uncontrolled re-entry." When this happens, the public is at a huge risk of being affected by it.

A Few Number of Casualties Might Be Hit

Although there's only a low chance that the rocket debris will hit a property or a person, the event shouldn't still be underestimated.

In the next decade, there's nearly a 10% chance that there will be more casualties because of this uncontrolled rocket disposal, per The Independent.

As of writing, the 18th Space Defense Squadron, the US Space Command, and the US Military have not yet issued any statement regarding this.

Let's say, for example, the Chinese rocket has already entered the planet's atmosphere. If it succeeds in hitting a populated area, the impact could be comparable to a minor plane crash that stretches more than 100 miles. It is enough to cause death to thousands of residents within the area.

Speaking of rocket re-entry, the risk of casualties should be under a 1-in-10,000 threshold. Although this is a requirement in many rocket launches, it's still not followed by some.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joseph Henry