![]() ![]() China is expected to launch the third and final module on a Long March 5B this fall. The Tiangong space station will ultimately consist of three modules. "It is critical that China and all spacefaring nations and commercial entities act responsibly and transparently in space to ensure the safety, stability, security and long-term sustainability of outer space activities." "It is clear that China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris," Nelson added. "Spacefaring nations must minimize the risks to people and property on Earth of reentries of space objects and maximize transparency regarding those operations," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson wrote in a statement posted shortly before Tianhe's Long March 5B body came down last year. But the potential for injury and damage to infrastructure on the ground has spurred exploration experts to rebuke China for allowing such space junk falls to occur. None of these incidents caused any reported injuries. 3 Chinese astronauts arrive at Tiangong space station for 6-month stay China lays out big plans for its new Tiangong space station Kessler Syndrome and the space debris problem ![]() In addition, Tiangong 1, a prototype space lab that helped pave the way for the Tiangong space station, crashed back to Earth over the Pacific Ocean in April 2018. The second Long March 5B reentered over the Indian Ocean in May 2021, 10 days after launching Tiangong's core module, which is known as Tianhe. About a week later, a Long March 5B body came down in an uncontrolled manner off Africa's west coast, apparently dumping some debris in the nation of Ivory Coast. ![]() (The rocket has now flown a total of three missions.) The rocket debuted on May 5, 2020. We saw such undirected dives on the two previous Long March 5B missions. But the Long March 5B core reaches orbit along with its payload, setting up an uncontrolled crash back to Earth, caused by atmospheric drag, in the not-too-distant future. The core stages of most orbital-class rockets are designed to come down shortly after liftoff, steered safely into the sea or over sparsely populated sections of terra firma - or to make powered, vertical landings to enable reuse, as SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy first stages do. "In this case, we would expect about five to nine metric tons. "The general rule of thumb is that 20-40% of the mass of a large object will reach the ground, but the exact number depends on the design of the object," The Aerospace Corporation wrote in an explainer about the impending rocket fall. ![]()
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