The launch and docking of Wentian, a laboratory module, took place this week. The installation of the lab advances the progress of a second outpost in space where scientists can conduct research in microgravity.
Other nations will be invited to join China in operating the new station for at least a decade. The International Space Station is going to be retired by NASA in 2030, but Russia has given conflicting signs about how long it will stay.
The booster stage from the Long March 5B rocket was used for Sunday's launch. No one knows where the booster will land after it falls back to Earth.
There is a risk that debris could fall in a populated area, causing property damage, injury and even death.
TheAerospace Corporation, a nonprofit organization that performs research and analysis including the tracking of space debris, is predicting re-entry on Saturday at 2 pm The time is over the indian ocean.
The re-entry point is still possible because the booster takes only 1.5 hours to circle all the way around the world.
China's space agencies don't know where or when the rocket body will re-enter. They didn't reply to questions before Saturday.
You are safe if you are in Chicago or anywhere else above 41.5 degrees north latitude or in the southern tip of South America below 41.5 degrees south latitude.
Europe and northern Africa do not get a glimpse of the booster's trajectory on Saturday.
You have a better chance of winning the Mega Millions lottery if you live in a place where the rocket will pass over.
Experts don't like the cumulative risk of someone being injured. It is almost certain that someone will win the Mega Millions.
Ted Muelhaupt is a space debris expert. The Chinese shouldn't do this.
He said that it wasn't a cause for worry. In case of falling space debris, nobody should be wearing football helmets.
The design of the rocket affects how much debris reaches the ground.
The estimates of the risk have not been released by the space agencies. The risk of a small number of launches is not high enough to justify changing how the rocket operates.
There have been two launches so far. There was some property damage caused by the first booster falling on villages in western Africa. The second booster flew into the air.
The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, which was the size of a city bus, reentered the earth's atmosphere in 2011. It fell in the ocean.
Up to 40% of a rocket or satellite can survive re-entry, according to Mr. Muelhaupt.
Organizations that launch large rockets and satellites take precautions to make sure that space debris doesn't fall over populated areas. In 2021, a malfunction on the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket prevented it from reentering the atmosphere. There was debris on a farm. The four-ton Falcon 9 second stage is larger than the Long March 5B booster, but there were no injuries.
There were pieces of the space shuttle Columbia scattered across Texas and Louisiana. There were no injuries from the debris that was recovered.
China does not attempt to control the re-entry of the Long March 5B because it is so large.
The majority of big rockets have at least one stage. The biggest part of the rocket drops off a few minutes after launch. There is no surprise where it will come down. The Kennedy Space Center is located near the Atlantic Ocean where the first stages of rockets fall.
There is a different version of the Long March 5B. The booster has been referred to as the second stage by Chinese officials, in an attempt to duplicate the success of the first stage. The Long March 5B doesn't have a second stage. The Chinese didn't come up with a way to bring the booster back down from the space station. During the launch, four strap-on boosters do drop off.
The booster's engines can't be used to guide the booster back into the atmosphere. The weight and complexity of that task would have been added by the designers.
The Long March 5B rocket is designed with special technology according to the spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He said that most of its components would burn up when it reentered the atmosphere.
He said that the probability of harm to aviation activities or to the ground is very low.
Li You made a contribution.
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