MASSIVE chunks of charred metal thought to be from a crashed rocket belonging to China have been found on land mere metres from people’s homes.
The out-of-control Chinese booster rocket came hurtling back to Earth on Saturday, and now suspected pieces are turning up across Southeast Asia.
People have found unconfirmed debris in Kalimantan, Indonesia and Sawarak, Malaysia.
Miraculously, there have been no reports of casualties or property damage.
But experts say it came so close to villages, that had it fallen a few hundred metres either way it “could have been a different story”.
Unverified images suspected to be that of the rocket have started appearing on local media and social networks.
It comes after China’s uncrewed Long March 5B rocket lost control shortly after being launched last month.
The 20-ton core stage was jettisoned during a mission to deliver a new module to the country’s Tiangong space station that’s currently being built.
It’s the third time that China’s space agency has permitted a potentially deadly uncontrolled descent in as many years.
And there could be more to come.
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Another module is heading for the space station in the coming months, meaning more uncontrolled debris could rain down.
Scientists had hoped the latest rocket might break apart upon entry, with only smaller pieces of debris reaching Earth, or even splash into the ocean.
Launches carried out by Nasa, SpaceX and Russia’s Roscosmos dispose of their rocket upper stages using controlled reentries.
The junk is directed into Earth’s atmosphere to ensure that it breaks up over an uninhabited, remote region of the Pacific Ocean.
China’s enormous Long March 5B rocket, however, is not capable of controlled reentry – a process that requires the booster to restart its engines following the completion of its primary mission.
“Significant debris falls in Kalimantan, Indonesia and Sawarak, Malaysia (both on Borneo),” said Dr Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
“No casualties or property damage reported, but debris is near villages and a few hundred metres either way could have been a different story.”
China has been criticised for allowing the rocket come back to Earth in such a way.
Nasa chief Bill Nelson said on Saturday: “All spacefaring nations should follow established best practices, and do their part to share this type of information in advance to allow reliable predictions of potential debris impact risk, especially for heavy-lift vehicles like the Long March 5B, which carry a significant risk of loss of life and property.”
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