Fragments of China’s Long March 5B-rocket, which was launched with the first module for the country’s orbital station in April, entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean on Sunday, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) said.
“On May 9, at 10:24 [02:24 GMT] the debris from the Chang Zheng 5B carrier rocket re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, the location where the debris fell into the water is at longitude 72.47 degrees east, latitude 2.65 degrees north (next to the Maldives in the Indian Ocean). Most of the debris burned up upon entry into the Earth’s atmosphere,” CMSEO said.
On Wednesday, the US Department of Defence had informed that it is tracking the Long March 5B-rocket that is out of control and set to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere this weekend.
US Space Command also took to Twitter and confirmed that Chinese Long March 5B re-entered over the Arabian Peninsula.
#USSPACECOM can confirm Chinese #LongMarch5B re-entered over the Arabian Peninsula at approximately 10:15 pm EDT on May 8. It is unknown if the debris impacted land or water. https://t.co/4Ol9Sa2iJo
— U.S. Space Command (@US_SpaceCom) May 9, 2021
Later on Friday, Beijing dismissed threats posed by the out-of-control rocket, despite concerns raised by experts.
In April, China had launched the Long March 5B carrier rocket with the aim for China’s future orbital station.
(With ANI Inputs)