A 21-metric-ton core stage is poised to make an uncontrolled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere at 10:21 p.m. ET on Nov. 4, give or take about 16 hours. Unfortunately, this is the fourth time that a remnant from China’s Long March 5B missile has threatened human lives and property. Long March 5B blasted off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in Hainan on Monday, October 31, delivering the third and final module, named Mengtian, to China’s Tiangong space station. Most rocket stages are shot down with engines on fire, allowing them to get away from populated areas, but not the Long March 5B. Very irresponsibly, China’s space agency has not taken this precaution with the heavy-lift launch vehicle, leaving it largely to its own devices as to where it might land. read more So now we’re forced to guess where the key stage might fall. As in previous cases, the Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Orbital Reentry and Debris Studies (CORDS) is monitoring the object and providing regular updates. The company’s initial forecast suggests that the uncontrolled reentry will occur at 10:21 PM ET on Friday, November 4 (Saturday, November 5 at 2:21 AM UTC). The Aerospace Corporation devises its estimates by analyzing data from the US Space Force’s Space Surveillance Network. It is still too early to know where the debris will land. The potential area in which the core stage could fall, known as the “debris footprint,” will be narrowed over time, but if previous episodes are any indication, we won’t really know until minutes before re-entry. . Objects coming from space travel at speeds of up to 17,500 miles per hour (28,164 kilometers per hour), meaning that a one-hour error in re-entry time translates into an error of 17,500 miles (28,164 km) in the predicted impact location. The story continues This will mark the fourth time a Long March 5B main stage has crashed uncontrollably. On the previous three occasions, debris fell in a populated area along the west coast of Africa. in the Indian Ocean near the Maldives. and in North Borneo. Fortunately, no one was injured or killed, but scientists have expressed concerns that this could eventually happen. More: Photos Show SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy Launch With Classified Military Payload. More from Gizmodo Subscribe to the Gizmodo Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Click here to read the full article.
