Long March 5 are heavy rockets developed by China to be a cornerstone of its space ambitions.
It can carry weights of up to 55,000lbs into low Earth orbit, and 31,000 into geostationary orbit.
The two stage rocket is similar in capability to the US Delta IV Heavy - and is regarded as the third most powerful rocket in the world after the Delta and SpaceX s Flacon Heavy.
It is 187ft high, 16ft in diameter and weighs an incredible 1,883,900lbs.
Seven of the rockets have been launched - with one failure back in July 2017.
China has another seven launches planned - including two more delivering parts to an under construction space station in 2022.
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Source: Tu Haichao/Xinhua via AP
The world is still in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic thanks to China’s lies at the beginning of the outbreak about the disease’s communicability as well as a litany of other malign behavior but their bad actions extend well beyond the virus. Think the CCP’s infiltration of U.S. universities and businesses, its disregard for health and safety in its manufacturing of building materials and exports of cheap goods, etc.
Now the world has to brace itself for the impact from a 23-ton piece of rocket that will crash somewhere on Earth this weekend, all thanks to the CCP’s irresponsibility in its space program.
This article was revised shortly after publication to reflect an updated forecast from The Aerospace Corporation.
No, you are almost certainly not going to be hit by a 10-story, 23-ton piece of a rocket hurtling back to Earth.
That said, the chances are not zero. Part of China’s largest rocket, the Long March 5B, is tumbling out of control in orbit after launching a section of the country’s new space station last week. The rocket is expected to fall to Earth in what is called “an uncontrolled re-entry” sometime on Saturday or Sunday.
Whether it splashes harmlessly in the ocean or impacts land where people live, why China’s space program let this happen again remains unclear. And given China’s planned schedule of launches, more such uncontrolled rocket re-entries in the years to come are possible.