An out-of-control Chinese rocket is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere between 1:00 and 5:00 UTC Sunday, but experts do not know where debris from the craft will land or exactly when it will happen.
Aerospace Corp. and Space-Track.org are following the rocket as it descends.
Space-Track.org estimated Saturday evening that the rocket would reenter the atmosphere over the North Atlantic at 02:04 UTC (10:04 p.m. EDT), give or take one hour. Aerospace Corp. put it at 03:02 UTC 11:02 p.m. EDT), give or take two hours.
Aerospace Corp. is a nonprofit corporation that operates a federally funded research-and-development center committed to space enterprise, according to its website. And Space-Track.org says it provides critical space situational awareness data for a worldwide space community.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said Friday that the rocket was unlikely to cause damage.
Wang told reporters in Beijing that the rocket would mostly burn up on reentry and “the probability of this process causing harm on the ground is extremely low.”
Multiple agencies are working the #LongMarch5B reentry prediction, all with different (but similar) models. We're proud partners with the @SpaceForceDoD. Check out this recap from @TheSpaceGal on @US_SpaceCom's latest prediction. https://t.co/DjSTTehrnN
— The Aerospace Corporation (@AerospaceCorp) May 9, 2021
He said China was closely following the rocket’s path toward Earth and would release any information about it in a “timely manner.”
voanews.com
UPDATE Our latest prediction for #LongMarch5B CZ-5B rocket body reentry is 🚀 09 MAY 2021 03:02 UTC ± 2 hours along the ground track shown here. 1/ pic.twitter.com/JeIKVUd1fk
— The Aerospace Corporation (@AerospaceCorp) May 8, 2021
Did you catch our conversation with @Reuters? Listen in to Aerospace space debris expert @TedMuelhaupt explain the odds of getting hit by falling #LongMarch5B debris 👇 https://t.co/7lTIYJhRAl
— The Aerospace Corporation (@AerospaceCorp) May 9, 2021
