What Happens with Spent Chinese Rocket Boosters

[Yazata]

A 25-ton Chinese rocket booster will crash to Earth Saturday. What's the risk? The core stage of a Chinese Long March 5B rocket is set to tumble uncontrollably back to Earth next week, in a reentry that China is tracking closely and has said poses little risk. [...] predicted to reenter Earth's atmosphere on July 30 at 7:24 p.m. ET, give or take 16 hours,

Here is is, photographed passing over Iowa (if you aren't safe in Iowa, where are you safe?) It appears to be tumbling about once a second, or about 60 rpm.

https://twitter.com/NStewCBS2/status/155...6488147969

Here's the guys to follow for the latest authoritative updates

Jonathan McDowell

https://twitter.com/planet4589

Marco Langbroek

https://twitter.com/Marco_Langbroek

Dr. Langbroek prepared this map of 2022-085B CZ5B's orbital path for the time the Chinese say it will reenter, with the uncertainty factored in. It can complete more than six orbits in the time uncertainty range, so the thing can fall anywhere along the lines on the map. (Two of which pass overhead very close to me!)

[Image: FY3m1G4XkAA6JiH?format=jpg&name=large]

[Yazata]

Chinese booster is still up, but its orbit is decaying at a dramatically increasing rate

[Image: FY7czScXwAAdJEa?format=png&name=900x900]

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Unconfirmed social media reports suggest that it might have reentered over Malaysian northern Borneo (Sarawak)

https://twitter.com/Marco_Langbroek/stat...6163887105

https://twitter.com/Drizzle78878087/stat...2450503681

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/15...3194053633

Graphic by Jonathan McDowell

[Image: FY7kKM7WYAMR6PG?format=jpg&name=small]

[C C]

No surprise US Space Command confirms it before Chinese officials. (Did the latter even bother to track it?)
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https://twitter.com/US_SpaceCom/status/1...5404323842

USSPACECOM 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. We refer you to the #PRC for further details on the reentry’s technical aspects such as potential debris dispersal+ impact location.

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U.S. Space Command
https://www.spacecom.mil/

[Yazata]

Marco Langbroek's "Bullshit Bingo Card" from yesterday

https://twitter.com/Marco_Langbroek/stat...3467552768

[Image: FZAaKBcWQAAZ0j8?format=png&name=medium]

[Yazata]

Reports of rocket debris being found on both sides of the Indonesia/Sarawak border in Borneo. There aren't any reports of injuries, but some of this stuff fell close to homes and villages.

Remains of a fuel tank dome

[Image: FZFNC45XwAA-a54?format=jpg&name=large]

[Yazata]

Another out-of-control Chinese rocket booster is set to reenter tomorrow morning

https://aerospace.org/reentries/cz-5b-rb-id-54217

[Yazata]

Another out-of-control Chinese rocket booster is set to reenter tomorrow morning

https://aerospace.org/reentries/cz-5b-rb-id-54217

It appears to have broken in two as it headed northeast over the Pacific and one piece reentered around the equator in the east Pacific, and the other piece reentered further up off the southwest Mexican coast. There was a small chance that some of it might have landed in southern Mexico, but as far as I know there's been no reports of that.

[Yazata]

More impeccable Chinese range safety --

https://twitter.com/SpaceNosey/status/17...4007979359

[C C]

More impeccable Chinese range safety --

https://twitter.com/SpaceNosey/status/17...4007979359

Wow. Makes the Octagrabber obsolete. Why unnecessarily burn the excess fuel via a return landing, when gravity can be allowed to do its job and just blow the remainder up?

[Yazata]

Light show over Los Angeles late last night. Turns out to have been an upper stage from the Shenzhou 15 crew mission to the Chinese space station that launched way back in 2022. As far as I know, there are no reports of anything on the ground being struck by debris.

https://twitter.com/FronteraSpacial/stat...9316709750