Chinese rocket likely to hit earth on weekend

Latest data shows it is in an elliptical orbit ranging from 165km to 292km from Earth

Beijing, 6: The White House has called for “responsible space behaviours” as a debris from a Chinese rocket, thought to be out of control, is expected to crash back to Earth on Saturday, US time.

The US Space Command is tracking debris from the Long March 5B, which last week launched the main module of China’s first permanent space station into orbit. The roughly 30metre (100ft) long stage would be among the biggest piece of space debris to fall to Earth.

The non-profit, federally funded Aerospace Corp has said it expects the debris to hit the Pacific near the Equator after passing over eastern US cities. The orbit covers a swath of the planet from New Zealand to Newfoundland. The US defence department expects it to fall to Earth on Saturday though where it will hit “cannot be pinpointed until within hours of its re-entry”, the Pentagon said.

The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said on Wednesday: “The United States is committed to addressing the risks of growing congestion due to space debris and growing activity in space and we want to work with the international community to promote leadership and responsible space behaviours.” China’s space agency has yet to say whether the rocket is being controlled or will make an out-of-control descent. But the Global Times newspaper, published by the Chinese Communist party, has claimed the rocket’s “thin-skinned” aluminium-alloy exterior will easily burn up in the atmosphere, posing an extremely remote risk to people.

Jonathan McDowell, astrophysicist at Harvard

University, has predicted some pieces of the rocket will survive re-entry and that it would be the “equivalent of a small plane crash scattered over 100 miles”.

“Last time they launched a Long March 5B rocket they ended up with big long rods of metal flying through the sky and damaging several buildings in the Ivory Coast,” he said.

“What’s bad is that it’s really negligent on

China’s part. Things more than 10 tonnes, we don’t let them fall out of the sky uncontrolled deliberately.”

The Long March 5B rocket carried the main module of Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony, into orbit on 29 April. hina plans 10 more launches to carry additional parts of the space station into orbit. The latest data shows it is in an elliptical orbit ranging from 165km to 292km from Earth. —