A booster rocket made an uncontrolled return to Earth over the Indian Ocean over the weekend, with no reported damage from the object’s descent.
According to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a Chinese Long March 5B (CZ-5B) rocket re-entered the earth over the Indian Ocean on Saturday (30 July). The China Manned Space Agency provided coordinates for an impact area in the Sulu Sea, about 56 kilometers east of Palawan Island in the Philippines, stating that most of its devices were ablated and destroyed during re-entry.
The Long March 5B blasted off July 24 to deliver a laboratory module to the new Chinese Tiangong space station under construction in orbit. Chinese authorities informed relevant agencies that the rocket would re-enter the atmosphere around July 30-31, but assured them that the overall risk to people and property was low.
Thailand’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) has also been monitoring the re-entry to ensure that the debris does not pose any risk to people and property in the country. (NNT)
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