However, up to now, there have been many times of debris falling from space on Earth, including an event that happened in 2020. Photo: CNN The good news is that the debris falling on Earth generally poses little threat to human safety. As Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University, told CNN: “It’s not the end of the world.” Even so, the issue still raises related questions about debris in outer space, how uncontrollably they fall to Earth, and what precautions should be taken when that happens. out? There have been many times of debris falling back to Earth Most of the debris would be burned in the atmosphere before having a chance to make any impact on the Earth’s surface. However, some large objects, like rockets, may remain intact when returned to Earth and are also likely to fall into populated areas. In 2020, one of the largest debris in space flew over the skies of Los Angeles and Central Park in New York City before falling into the Atlantic. This is an empty core from Chinese missiles, weighing nearly 20 tons, is the largest piece of uncontrolled trash when it fell back to Earth since 1991 and is the fourth largest piece ever. Other larger pieces are from NASA’s Skylab space station in 1979, the missile core of Skylab in 1975, and the Soviet Salyut 7 space station in 1991. The space shuttle Columbia from 2003 could also be included in the list. This is because NASA lost control of the ship when it returned to Earth. How many debris are floating in space? The answer is a lot. Above us there is a “cloud” of more than 9,000 tons of space debris – the equivalent of the weight of 720 school buses. This cloud contains hundreds of thousands – maybe even millions – of objects orbiting uncontrollably, including used rocket propulsion engines, dead satellites and debris from the army’s anti-satellite missiles. These debris are concentrated in the orbital regions closest to the Earth’s surface. And while it does not pose a significant threat to humans on the ground, it does pose a threat to many active satellites that provide a number of services such as climate tracking, studying Earth climate. Land and telecommunications service providers. These debris also threaten the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS station had to readjust its orbit several times last year due to space debris. “A few years ago, we had about 1,000 satellites in orbit, but now we have 4,000 satellites,” said McDowell. The tricky problem is that space transport experts do not have a complete map of the objects orbiting the Earth. Potential collisions are being tracked using government or private trackers on the ground, but the process is largely predictable. When will Chinese rockets return to Earth? The Long March 5B missile is expected to return to Earth’s atmosphere around May 8, according to Defense Department spokesman Mike Howard. Space Command is currently monitoring the missile’s path. According to Howard, the point of return to Earth’s atmosphere could only be accurately determined a few hours ago difficult to start falling back to Earth. However, Space Control Unit 18 will update the missile’s exact location via the Space Track website. Astrophysicist McDowell explained that determining where debris could fall to Earth is almost impossible at this point because the rocket’s travel speed can vary and with only 1 change. Very small is enough to greatly change the direction of the missile. “We expect it to return around May 8-10. During those two days, it will travel around the Earth about 30 times and at a speed of about 18,000 km / h “, according to Mr. McDowell. Still, the oceans are still the safest place for debris to land, as it occupies most of the Earth’s surface. Do people need to be on guard? There’s no need to be on guard, said Mr. McDowell. “The risk of it causing some damage or hitting someone is very small. It can still happen, but the chance of it hitting you is extremely small. I won’t waste a second worrying about it. Because there are still other bigger things to think about, ”said McDowell.

On the morning of May 9 (Beijing time), the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) confirmed that the fragments of Long March 5B had fallen into the Indian Ocean near the Maldives, the rest was loaded. fire in the atmosphere. The Truong Chinh 5B missile carrying parts for the Chinese space station was launched in Hainan province on April 29. Photo: Reuters. “They are jealous of China’s progress” In addition to the confirmation of the missile falling into the sea, the Chinese media said that Western newspapers are exaggerating the incident, discrediting the country’s space exploration program. “Their hype and smear are in vain”, CNN citing a Chinese source, saying that American scientists are “acting against conscience” and “anti-intellectual”. “These people are jealous of the advancement of Chinese aerospace technology… Some of them are even using loud words to interfere with our future missile launch missions, with the goal of building stations. private universe “, this page says. Earlier, the director of the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) Bill Nelson criticized China after debris from the Long March 5B rocket fell into the Indian Ocean. “It is clear that China has not met the standard of responsible space waste,” said Nelson in a statement on May 9. Compared to Russia (formerly the Soviet Union) or the US, China is a latecomer in the space field. They launched their first satellite in 1970, 13 years behind the Soviet Union and 12 years behind the US. In recent times, the field of Chinese space exploration has been invested more and more strongly. They are the first country to send a probe into the dark of the Moon in 2019, before bringing some rock samples on the Moon back to Earth by the end of 2020. The reason China wants to build a space station On the US side, this country has taken action that China sees as “hostile”, to prevent its space mission. Since 1999, the United States has imposed a restriction on exports of satellite technology to China. In late 2011, the US Congress also passed laws restricting cooperation between NASA and China. That is why Chinese astronauts are not allowed to board the International Space Station (ISS), the only space station in orbit to be completed, operated by cooperation between the US and Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada. The Long March 5B is the largest space object to return uncontrollably to Earth in nearly three decades. Photo: ABC. That is the reason why China plans to build the Tiangong (Tian Cung) space station, which means “heavenly palace”. In late April, the Long March 5B was launched to bring the first module to the space station. But then, the rocket fell into a state of uncontrollability until it was gradually pulled down by Earth’s gravity. Although criticizing the West for “bluffing” the Long March 5B out of control, the Chinese media and experts have ignored the explanation of why the missile makes the world worried. According to the CNN , the Earth’s launch and landing phases of the missile can be predicted. When falling into orbit, manufacturers often equip controls to direct missiles into the sea or keep them in a “graveyard orbit”, which helps them hover in space for decades. This is the second incident related to the Truong Chinh 5B missile. Last year, a 12-meter debris of the missile crashed into a village on Cote d’Ivoire, damaging businesses and homes. Estimated to weigh more than 20 tons, the Long March 5B is the largest space object to return to Earth uncontrollably in nearly three decades. SpaceX’s test missile explodes again when it lands on the launch pad SpaceX’s Starship SN9 rocket landed and exploded on 2/2. This is the first phase prototype of a reusable rocket line that will help send people to Mars.

This weekend, China’s Long March 5B (Truong Chinh 5B) missile will fall back to Earth. Instead of falling into the sea as originally planned, the Long March 5B was orbiting the Earth and lost control. The silence from the China National Space Administration (CNSA) coupled with the rocket’s too fast travel speed makes scientists at other space research institutions do not have enough computational data, see rockets. Where will it fall. Hard to have human casualties The Long March 5B missile is 30 meters long, weighs 22.5 tons, and when it falls to the ground the equivalent of a small plane falling and debris flying 160 km away. This is the comment of Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. In 2020, a 50 meter long fragment also from a Chinese rocket crashed into the Atlantic, just 13 minutes after passing New York City with 9 million inhabitants. However, a 12-meter-long piece may have crashed in a village on Ivory Coast, according to the report The Verge , from the source of the local newspaper Afriksoir. The villagers heard a loud explosion, lightning, and noise at the same time that scientists calculated missile debris. The 12-meter-long debris that fell on the village of Mahounou on Ivory Coast in May 2020 is believed to have belonged to the Truong Chinh 5B missile. Photo: Afrik Soir. The orbits re-enter the atmosphere of rockets, which are inherently difficult to predict, because they travel at speeds of thousands of kilometers per hour. Scientists can only calculate accuracy after the rocket has returned to the atmosphere and began to fall. However, according to Mr. McDowell’s estimates, there will be no loss of life. Rockets will usually be burned most of the time when they pass through the atmosphere. Only a few parts, which are designed to be more heat resistant, can fall back to Earth. However, with a planet’s surface area of ​​up to 75% that is water, and also much of the ground uninhabited, the probability that missile debris could fall right where humans are inhabited is very low. “The worst scenario is that when a small piece falls on a person, that person is more likely to die. The probability that a lot of people get a debris fall is not high,” said Jonathan McDoWell. With a landing speed of about 160 km / h, debris falling on structures and vehicles will also leave great consequences. However, since the debris will fall in an area up to 160 km in diameter, the likelihood that they will fall into an inhabited, residential area is also very low. The Long March 5B missile contains the core module of the new space station. Photo: Getty Images. According to the Independent Over the past decade there have been about 100 satellites, and the wreckage of the missile returns to Earth every year, with a total mass of 150 tons. However, most of them do not cause serious consequences. The mass of space junk that fell in 2020 is the fourth largest block to fall back to Earth in history, after the Skylab space station in 1979, the Skylab’s rocket deck in 1975, and the Salyut-7, the Soviet space station, At 1991. Big problem with space junk This is not the first time that CNSA has had problems with objects landing on Earth from space. In 2018, the Tiangong-1 space station freely fell into the Pacific, between Australia and Chile. The Ivory Coast incident in May 2020 was also caused by another Long March 5B missile. Although there is little potential to cause material or life damage, the disposal of rockets and satellites out of use still leaves many scientists a headache. When a satellite expires, becomes unusable, it resumes its orbit. A boosters after completing a mission to put the spacecraft into orbit will also be left in the air. And when two objects in the universe collide with each other and create millions of debris, they are also left in space. Cosmic debris are surrounding the Earth. Photo: Nikkei. No one has put a ship on board and collects debris in space. All materials left by humans so far are known as cosmic trash. NASA scientist Donald Kessler believes that colliding with two large pieces of space debris can create a domino effect, causing thousands of smaller debris to continue orbiting the Earth. Mr. Kessler warns there will be a day when space junk becomes so much that we cannot launch a satellite without hitting another object. By then, we will be prisoners on our own planet, and will not blame anyone else but humans. As for the controllable missiles, the space agencies will calculate to bring them back to Point Nemo, which is considered the “graveyard” of spacecraft in the ocean. With the closest distance to the mainland of 2,250 km, the South Pacific Ocean is considered the “pole of the ocean” and is no different than a desert region in the middle of the sea.

Chinese Truong Chinh 5B missile leaves its launch pad. According to this map, anywhere between 41 degrees North and 41 degrees South can be affected by the rocket’s debris. He said the boosters will enter Earth’s atmosphere as early as May 8. According to ROSCOSMOS, “a portion of the rocket will no longer exist in the dense gas layers of the atmosphere” but “individual non-flammable structural elements can reach the surface of the Earth”. Meanwhile, the Aerospace Corporation non-profit aerospace organization predicts, the time of the Chinese missile crashes to Earth will occur at dawn on 9/5 (international time), the error plus – minus in 28 hours. They also published a map of the potential impact area – relevant to the area provided by ROSCOSMOS. The Chinese missile’s orbital tilt is currently 41.5 degrees, meaning it could fall anywhere from the north relative to New York, Madrid and Beijing and as far south as southern Chile and Wellington. New Zealand, these are all regions with the highest population densities in the world. The ROSCOSMOS map shows the drop zone of the Chinese missile’s center. Speaking to the press, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed his hope that the Chinese missile will fall into the ocean and it is estimated that it will fall between May 8 and 9. On May 6, Mr. Austin said at this time, the US has no plans to shoot Chinese missile debris that is expected to fall back into the atmosphere this weekend. Since the missile is traveling at an average speed of 7 km / s, it is difficult to predict where it will hit. US Department of Defense spokesman Mike Howard said the US Space Command was monitoring the missile’s trajectory. However, the US was only able to determine the exact point within a few hours before it fell. According to Howard, the 18th Space Control Squadron will provide daily updates on the missile’s position on the Space Track website. Ted Muelhaupt, an expert in space debris at the US-based nonprofit Aerospace Corporation, told ABC News that the central floor of the Truong Chinh 5B rocket was probably among 10 large objects. can fall to the planet into 1 piece. The bulldog has a central floor weighing 22 tons. China’s Long March 5B missile hull areas are likely to fall over the next few days. Photo: Aerospace Corporation According to SpaceNews, the 22-ton central deck of the Truong Chinh 5B missile is in a state of out of control and could fall to Earth. Instead of falling to the intended location at sea like the previous rockets, the central stage of the Truong Chinh 5B boosters began to rotate around the globe in China’s helplessness. On April 28, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) launched a Long March 5B booster rocket carrying a core module called “Thien Hoa” weighing 22.5 tons into space (part of the space station. Heavenly Palace). The launch went quite smoothly until the core of the missile suddenly deviated from its intended flight trajectory. It is known that the core layer of the body (weighing 19.6 tons, 30m long and 5m in diameter) is currently flying around in the LEO orbit at an extremely fast speed. According to a SPACECOM representative, the Chinese missile is currently flying at 162-306km above the ground, indicating that it has begun to gradually decrease altitude from 170-372km. Essentially the drag of the Earth’s atmosphere sooner or later pulls the upper missile body out of the LEO orbit, but with its erratic speed and trajectory it makes it possible to accurately predict the location and The moment the rocket will hit the ground becomes difficult.

On April 29, at the Van Xuong spacecraft launch center in Hainan province, China successfully launched the first module of the Tianhe space station with the Truong Chinh 5B rocket, marking an important step in the build the country’s own space station. However, instead of falling to a predetermined place in the sea like the previous rockets, the central stage of the Truong Chinh 5B boosters started spinning around the Earth in a low orbit in a state of out-of-control. With a weight of about 21 tons, 30m long and 5m wide, the remnants of the Truong Chinh 5B rocket are flying in orbit around the Earth every 90 minutes / rev, at a speed of 27,600 km / h at an altitude of over 300 kilometer. Since the end of last week until now, this remaining part has decreased altitude by nearly 80km. According to the observations of underground amateur astronomers, this missile is in a very unstable state. Some calculations show that the central floor of the Truong Chinh 5B missile will plunge into the atmosphere on May 8. When it crosses the Earth’s atmosphere, it could be burned, but it is likely that large pieces of the missile will remain and will fall scattered over an area of ​​160km wide. Worth mentioning, this is not the first time that China’s Truong Chinh 5B missile has fallen into a state of out-of-control during the biosphere. In May 2020, a similar incident happened. Beijing is expected to have at least 10 more similar launches, bringing all additional equipment into orbit, before completing the station by 2022. China’s Truong Chinh 5B missile was launched into orbit on April 29 at the Wenchang launch pad, southern China. . Prior to the US Space Command’s forecast that the 2021-035B Truong Chinh 5B (Long March 5B or Chang Zheng 5B) missile core, called 2021-035B, was capable of falling uncontrollably on Earth on the day. May 8-9, many people questioned: Will Russia or the US plan to use the missile to shoot the core of the Truong Chinh 5B missile, to save the planet’s citizens? On May 6, the US said it was tracking the object’s path, but had no plans to shoot it down. Cosmic garbage Australia currently holds the record as the country that contains the largest space waste in the world. In 1979, the 77-ton American SkyLab space station disintegrated in Western Australia, leaving the area around the coastal town of Esperance splashed by debris. Although no deaths or serious injuries have been reported from being hit by these cosmic debris, it is quite dangerous. Just a year before the fall of SkyLab, a Soviet remote sensing satellite, Cosmos 954, crashed into a barren area of ​​Canada’s Northwest Territory, spreading radioactive debris over several hundred square kilometers. As the Cold War was at its height, the nuclear sensitivity of the Cosmos 954 led to unfortunate delays in locating and cleaning the wreck. Who has to pay for cleaning? International law sets out a compensation regime that applies in many cases of damage on Earth, as well as when satellites collide in space. The 1972 conventions, a United Nations treaty, impose liability for the damage caused by space debris, which includes a regime of absolute liability as they fall to Earth like fragments. crumbs. In the case of Long March 5B, this would impose potential liability on China. The new treaty has only been invoked once before (for the Cosmos 954 incident) and therefore may not be considered a incentive. Of course, this legal framework only applies after the damage has occurred. In 1978, a Soviet nuclear-powered satellite crashed in northern Canada, resulting in a $ 3,000,000 fine for the tundra radioactive cleanup for Canada.

China’s Long March (Truong Chinh) 5B missile was launched last Thursday A Chinese uncontrolled 21-ton missile is falling on Earth and could land in densely populated areas, experts warn. China’s Long March (Truong Chinh) 5B rocket launched last Thursday is expected to fall back to Earth in the next few days. Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer who tracks objects orbiting the Earth, said SpaceNews that its path was “slightly further north than New York, Madrid and Beijing, and as far south as Chile and Wellington, New Zealand”. The missile can fall anywhere within this range, including oceans and densely populated or uninhabited areas, but most missiles will burn in the atmosphere. Satellite tracking devices have detected missiles longer than 30m cruise at speeds of more than 6.4km / s. China launched the Long March 5B at 11:23 a.m. local time last Thursday to make the first phase of their upcoming space station. The module that the missile carries, dubbed ‘Thien Hoa’, will be inhabited by the three crew members after the space station’s giant structure is complete. State media reported that China aims to complete the China Space Station, known as Tiangong (Tiangong) by the end of 2022, after several other modules have been launched. When completed, the Tiangong Space Station will orbit the Earth at an altitude of 340-450km. China aims to become a space power by 2030 to keep up with rivals, including the US, Russia and the European Space Agency, and create the most advanced space station around Earth. The ISS International Space Station, currently in orbit, takes 10 years and more than 30 missions to assemble since the launch of the first module in 1998. The ISS was supported by five space agencies – NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe) and CSA (Canada) – but China was initially banned from the United States. However, the unsettled return of the missile could put an end to the Chinese celebration if the vehicle lands in an inhabited area. Cosmic debris watchers have observed it moving slowly and unpredictably to Earth over the past few days and it will be one of the largest uncontrolled debris on record. The Long March 5B is about 33m long, 5.3m wide and although more than 10 tons of space debris has been left in orbit for an uncontrolled return to ground flight, Mr McDowell said “by current standards. , it’s unacceptable to let it come back uncontrollably. ” Holger Krag, head of the European Space Agency’s Office of Space Safety Programs, told SpaceNews that: ‘China is aware of the potential danger of out-of-control’. “It is always difficult to judge the volume and amount of debris left over without knowing the design of the object, but the logical rule is about 20-40% China launched the Long March 5B in May 2020 to test the vehicle in preparation to send people to the moon, but the mission also ended with an uncontrolled return trip. The Long March 5B rocket entered space on 5 May 2020 and crashed to Earth a few days later, just off the coast of West Africa. This has been confirmed by Space Control Squadron 18, a unit of the US Air Force that tracks space debris in Earth orbit. The force says what’s remarkable not only about the size of the missile but also the extent of its uncontrolled dive zone. Before crashing into waters off the west coast of Mauritania, the rocket core flew over Los Angeles and New York.