Out-of-control Chinese rocket lights up the night sky as it disintegrates over Malaysia

The remnants of a large, recently launched Chinese rocket were caught on a stunning video as it disintegrated over Malaysia before landing in the Indian Ocean Saturday night.

The video, taken by a Twitter user who initially thought it was a meteor, shows the craft racing across the sky before it burns in the atmosphere upon its re-entry. 

Many in the replies to the original poster were speculating that it was the debris from the original rocket meeting its natural end.  

US Space Command confirmed that the debris re-entered the atmosphere at approximately 12.45pm ET earlier Saturday, referring all questions about the precise location of re-entry and debris dispersal to the Chinese government. 

NASA said Beijing had not shared the ‘specific trajectory information’ needed to know where possible debris might fall. 

It had been feared that the debris could land in Mexico, but it ultimately landed in the ocean, without causing any injuries or damage.  

‘All spacefaring nations should follow established best practices and do their part to share this type of information in advance to allow reliable predictions of potential debris impact risk,’ NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. ‘Doing so is critical to the responsible use of space and to ensure the safety of people here on Earth.’ 

China’s embassy to the United States did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment from DailyMail.com.

In the final hours before the rocket booster fell from orbit, a populated area of Mexico on the Baja California peninsula, near Cabo San Lucas, had been in the potential path of the debris, according to an assessment from the Aerospace Corporation.

However, experts considered a break-up over open ocean the most probable scenario, and Space Command said that the re-entry occurred somewhere over the Indian Ocean.  

Because the booster stage raced around Earth’s orbit every 90 minutes, the exact point it would plunge from the sky had been impossible to predict.  

The falling space junk was the 23-ton core stage of the Long March 5B-Y3 rocket – China’s most powerful – that was launched on July 24 to deliver the Wentian module to China’s Tiangong Space Station. 

The 23-ton core stage of China's Long March 5B-Y3 rocket plunged to Earth over the Indian Ocean on Saturday

The 23-ton core stage of China’s Long March 5B-Y3 rocket plunged to Earth over the Indian Ocean on Saturday

The falling space junk is the 23-ton booster stage of the Long March 5B-Y3 rocket - China's most powerful - that was launched on July 24 (above) to deliver the Wentian module to China's Tiangong Space Station

The falling space junk is the 23-ton booster stage of the Long March 5B-Y3 rocket – China’s most powerful – that was launched on July 24 (above) to deliver the Wentian module to China’s Tiangong Space Station

Aerospace Corporation had said ‘there is a non-zero probability’ that the debris will land in a populated area – in other words, it’s not impossible, so it could happen. 

‘A re-entry of this size will not burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere,’ said Aerospace Corporation, which is based in El Segundo, California. 

‘The general rule of thumb is that 20-40 per cent of the mass of a large object will reach the ground, though it depends on the design of the object.’ 

But according to Aerospace Corporation consultant Ted Muelhaupt, the overall risk to people and property on the ground was fairly low, as the vast majority of Earth’s surface in the potential re-entry area is water, desert or jungle. 

Speaking during a briefing livestreamed to Twitter on Thursday, Muelhaupt also said there’s a ‘99.5 percent chance that nothing will happen’.

‘Personally, if this were coming down on my head, I’d run outside with a camera to watch it, because I think it would be more of a visual [opportunity] than an actual risk,’ he said. 

Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, added: ‘The worst case in this event is going to be less serious than a single cruise missile strike that we’ve been seeing every day in the Ukraine war, so let’s put it in some perspective here.’ 

Muelhaupt said that the odds of of a particular individual being injured by the debris are miniscule, on the order of six chances per 10 trillion. 

By comparison, you are about 5,500 times more likely to win the Mega Millions jackpot, which has odds of 1 in 303 million.

The wayward booster delivered the Wentian module to China's Tiangong Space Station (seen in a rendering above)

The wayward booster delivered the Wentian module to China’s Tiangong Space Station (seen in a rendering above)

An engineer sits in front of a monitor showing an animation of space debris at the European Space Agency's (ESA) new Space Safety Center, located at the European Satellite Operations Center (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany

An engineer sits in front of a monitor showing an animation of space debris at the European Space Agency’s (ESA) new Space Safety Center, located at the European Satellite Operations Center (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany

CHINA’S LONG MARCH 5B ROCKET 

On Sunday (July 24), China launched a new module for its space station on a Long March 5B rocket. 

Unfortunately, the rocket’s booster – which weighs 22 metric tons (about 48,500 lb) – has already reached low orbit and is expected to tumble back toward Earth. 

Prior to re-entry, Aerospace Corporation said ‘there is a non-zero probability’ that the debris will land in a populated area – in other words, it’s not impossible so it could happen.  

However, the odds that anyone on the planet might get injured are much lower, roughly one-in-1,000 to one-in-230, and well above the internationally accepted casualty risk threshold of one-in-10,000, Muelhaupt told reporters.  

It’s possible part of the 21-ton Long March 5B rocket may fail to fully burn up as it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere.

It would then plummet to the surface in an uncertain location and at great speed – several hundred miles per hour. 

That’s what happened in May 2020, when fragments of another Chinese Long March 5B landed on the Ivory Coast, damaging several buildings in that West African nation, though no injuries were reported. 

Most spacefaring nations take precautions to prevent uncontrolled re-entry, a lesson learned after large chunks of the NASA space station Skylab fell from orbit in 1979 and landed in Australia. 

The problem with China’s rockets is rooted in the risky design of the country’s launch process.

Usually, discarded booster stages re-enter the atmosphere soon after liftoff, in a planned trajectory to discard them over water, and don’t go into orbit. 

However, the Long March 5B rocket booster does enter orbit — and has no mechanism to control its descent as the orbit decays. 

The shape of China's falling space station Tiangong-1 can be seen in this radar image during its uncontrolled re-entry in 2018

The shape of China’s falling space station Tiangong-1 can be seen in this radar image during its uncontrolled re-entry in 2018

Debris from US spacecraft has fallen uncontrolled to Earth before -- but usually only in catastrophic disasters. Above, debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia is seen in 2003 after it broke up on re-entry, killing all seven astronauts aboard

Debris from US spacecraft has fallen uncontrolled to Earth before — but usually only in catastrophic disasters. Above, debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia is seen in 2003 after it broke up on re-entry, killing all seven astronauts aboard 

Ultimately, the rocket body will disintegrate as it plunges through the atmosphere, but it is large enough that numerous chunks will likely survive a fiery re-entry to rain debris on the Earth’s surface. 

China has previously rejected accusations of irresponsibility, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry saying the likelihood of damage to anything or anyone on the ground is ‘extremely low’.

Many scientists agree with China that the odds of debris causing serious damage are tiny, although others think launch designs like the Long March 5B pose an unnecessary risk.

Last May, one of the country’s Long March 5B rockets broke up on re-entry above the Indian Ocean, north of the Maldives.

The Long March 5B had sent Tianhe, the first building block of China’s new space station, into orbit in April. 

There were concerns that it could smash into a populated area on land, although it ultimately fell into the ocean. 

The Wenchang Space Launch Center, from which the Wentian module was launched on July 24, is a rocket launch site on the island of Hainan, China

The Wenchang Space Launch Center, from which the Wentian module was launched on July 24, is a rocket launch site on the island of Hainan, China

Wentian, a research lab dedicated to science and biology experiments, has already docked with the main body of the space station, called Tianhe. 

It is set to be followed by a second research lab module, Mengtian, due to be launched in October this year. 

When Mengtian attaches to the rest of Tiangong, the space station’s construction will finally be complete, although Beijing also plans to launch Xuntian, a space telescope that would co-orbit with the space station, in 2024. 

Tiangong (meaning ‘heavenly palace’) will rival the ageing International Space Station (ISS), which is operated by the space agencies of the US, Canada, Russia, Japan and Europe.

It will comprise three modules, although another two spacecraft – Shenzhou and Tianzhou – which transport crew and cargo respectively, can also dock at the station. 

Once completed, Tiangong space station will weigh some 66 tons, far smaller than the ISS, which launched its first module in 1998 and weighs around 450 tons. 

It is expected to have a life span of at least 10 years.   

TIANGONG: CHINA’S NEW SPACE STATION COMPRISING THREE SEPARATE MODULES AND TWO DOCKABLE SPACECRAFT

China’s space station is called ‘Tiangong‘, meaning ‘Heavenly Palace’.

Tiangong is comprised of several different modules that are launching one by one.

In April 2021, the core module, called ‘Tianhe‘, was launched. The first crew arrived at Tianhe two months later. 

In July 2022, Wentian, a smaller module where research experiments will take place, attached to Tianhe. 

In October 2022, a second research lab module, Mengtian, will also attach to Tianhe. When it does, the Tiangong space station will be complete. 

Another two spacecraft that can dock at the station – Shenzhou and Tianzhou – respectively transport crew and cargo, and aren’t considered part of the station itself. 

China also plans to launch Xuntian, a space telescope that would co-orbit with the space station, in 2024.

3D rendering of the Chinese Space Station, or Tiangong Space Station, as it'll look when fully constructed. Tianhe will form the main living quarters for three crew members. Shenzhou is an existing spacecraft that would dock at the station with crew. Tianzhou is an existing cargo transport spacecraft

3D rendering of the Chinese Space Station, or Tiangong Space Station, as it’ll look when fully constructed. Tianhe will form the main living quarters for three crew members. Shenzhou is an existing spacecraft that would dock at the station with crew. Tianzhou is an existing cargo transport spacecraft

source: dailymail.co.uk