Debris from China's Long March 5B rocket that crashed in Borneo last weekend has finally been found. The wreckage found was quite large and fell in an area near a residential area.
The rocket's 22-ton core stage crashed uncontrollably to Earth at the weekend. Most of the rockets burn in the atmosphere, but scientists estimate that 20-40% of the debris will fall to Earth.
Now the fragments have begun to be found. Residents in the area around the border between Indonesia and Malaysia reported the discovery of rocket wreckage.
Some of the rocket parts found were large enough to cause serious damage if they fell in residential areas. Fortunately the wreckage fell in the open.
After CZ-5B r/b reentry over Indonesia at Saturday midnight (local time) ago, many debris possibly related to this space junk was found. 3 debris have been found by local people at Sanggau regency (near Indonesia-Malaysia border). @planet4589@Marco_Langbroek@jremis @cosmos4u pic.twitter.com/wcGuffN14v
— The Ecliptic Institute (@marufins) August 1, 2022
"So, recap CZ-5B (short for Long March 5B): significant debris fell on Borneo, Indonesia and Sarawak, Malaysia," said Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. /8/2022).
"No casualties or property damage were reported, but the debris is near the village and a few hundred meters off it could be a different story."
The Long March 5B rocket was launched on July 24 to deliver the Wentian module that will become part of China's Tiangong space station. The rocket's core stage went into orbit and six days later was pulled by Earth's atmosphere.
This rocket fell out of control, unlike most rockets that can be steered to fall in uninhabited areas or in the ocean, or as in the case of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket which can be landed vertically for reuse.
The Long March 5B scenario is not only unique but also controversial because of the potential damage and loss of life it could cause. After the fall of this latest rocket, China's space agency has been criticized by scientists and top brass in the space community.
"All countries traveling to space must follow established standards, and do their job to provide this kind of information in order to provide accurate predictions of the risk of falling debris, especially for a large vehicle like the Long March 5B, with a huge risk of loss of life and building damage," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.
"This is very important to do to be responsible for the use of outer space and ensure the safety of people on Earth," he added.
The launch of the first Long March 5B rocket in May 2020 left debris falling in West Africa, in Ivory Coast to be exact. The second launch in April 2021 left the rocket down in the Indian Ocean.
It looks like the case of China's rocket falling under control is not going to stop anytime soon. The Long March 5B rocket is slated to put the Tiangong module into orbit next fall, possibly in October 2022.