This Friday, debris from a Chinese missile crashed to earth in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. A “case” that could have taken a much more dramatic turn.
Last Monday, China launched one rocket Type Long March 5B. The goal: a module to transport The Chinese space station Tiangongto complete the assembly.
So far, so good. Apart from that, the debris of this rocket of considerable dimensions (17.8 meters long, 4.2 meters in diameter, for about 23.3 tons) had to fall back to earth. A “case” that kept the whole world in suspense, even leading to the partial and temporary closure Spanish and French airspace debris over. But luckily there were no consequences. In fact, according to a Chinese press release, most of the rocket would have disintegrated upon entering the atmosphere, and the rest would have “crashed” in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
0.5% “risk” of falling on someone
Still, the risk of this uncontrolled missile crashing on solid ground and causing human injury was very real. In fact, this is the fourth time this has happened, and each time China has gotten off well, that is, with no fatalities.
A “Russian Roulette” that is not to the liking NASA while another rocket of this type is scheduled to be launched in 2023. Hence the rant from Bill Nelson, Administrator of the US Space Agency: “Once again, the People’s Republic of China is taking unnecessary risks with the uncontrolled re-entry of its Long March 5B rocket stage. They have not shared the specific trajectory information needed to predict landing zones and reduce risk. “It is vital that all spacefaring nations are accountable and transparent in their activities and follow established best practices, particularly when dealing with the uncontrolled re-entry of large missile body debris, debris that could very well result in significant damage or loss of life.”
“We, the world, don’t intentionally throw things that big with the intention of them falling somewhere,” Ted Muelhaupt, an adviser to the Aerospace Corporation, a US-funded nonprofit group, told the New York Times. “We haven’t done that in 50 years.” But the 0.5% chance that someone could have been injured or killed is “high enough that the world needs to monitor, prepare and take preventive action, and that comes at an unnecessary cost,” concludes Dr. muelhaupt.