The Chinese space program has achieved impressive feats, such as the recent discovery of a new mineral in the soil of the Moon. However, space debris falling to Earth after rockets lift off is raising concerns.
This time, the Philippine Space Agency issued an alert last Tuesday (13) about the possibility of accidents due to falling debris. "While it is unlikely that debris from the CZ-7A will land on land resources or inhabited areas in Philippine territory, the falling debris still poses a considerable threat to ships, aircraft, fishing boats and other vessels that have passed through the drop zones," says the note.
The Long March 7A (CZ-7A) rocket was launched yesterday from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in China. According to the Chinese Space Administration, the liftoff is to carry the Zhongxing-1E satellite, developed to provide high-quality communication services, television and data transmission.
China difficult rocket reentries
Generally, the re-entry of debris to Earth is controlled, but this is not usually the case for Chinese launches. The country has a history of problems with falling rockets. The most recent one occurred in early August, a Long March 5B, which crashed in the Philippines.
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In a translated post on Weibo, China's National Space Administration said the rocket re-entered near the same area and that most of it burned up during the fall. Uncertainty about where the rocket would land was already felt during the week, as projections indicated it could be anywhere from Mexico to the southern tip of Africa.
This was the third launch of a Long March 5B from China, making it the third out-of-control landing. In 2020, debris from a launch landed in the Ivory Coast, and in 2021 in the Indian Ocean.
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