The upcoming atmospheric re-entry of a Chinese Long March 5B rocket body is a reminder of a much larger problem, experts say.
The Long March 5B launched the core module of China’s space station into orbit on April 28. Now satellite and space debris monitoring groups are keeping a close eye on the big rocket’s core stage, which will fall to Earth in an uncontrolled manner soon. Leftover debris from its fiery fall could reach terra firma.
One report has the hardware tumbling along an elliptical orbit and falling to Earth in a few days, perhaps as early as May 9.
But it’s tough to say where the rocket will come down: Nobody knows for sure the exact date and time of the rocket body’s demise. In short, the rocket body equation adds up to a dilemma.
Read more at Scientific American