Chinese booster rocket makes uncontrolled return to Earth

WASHINGTON, 01 August 2022, (TON): A Chinese booster rocket made an uncontrolled return to Earth, leading US officials to chide Beijing for not sharing information about the potentially hazardous object’s descent.

The US military unit said on Twitter “US Space Command “can confirm the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Long March 5B (CZ-5B) re-entered over the Indian Ocean at approx 10:45 am MDT on 7/30.”

It said “we refer you to the #PRC for further details on the reentry’s technical aspects such as potential debris dispersal+ impact location.”

In a statement posted to its official WeChat profile, the China Manned Space Agency later gave coordinates for an impact area in the Sulu Sea, about 35 miles (57 kilometers) off the east coast of the Philippines’ Palawan Island.

“Most of its devices were ablated and destroyed during re-entry,” the agency said of the booster rocket, which was used last Sunday to launch the second of three modules China needed to complete its new Tiangong space station.

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