General > General Technical Chat
Chinese rocket booster soon to enter uncontrolled crash!
bw2341:
This is a single-stage version of the Long March 5 (designation: CZ-5B) use to launch modules for the Tiangong space station.
Since the massive stage achieves orbital velocity, it has an uncontrolled reentry. For a controlled reentry, the stage would need to have extra deorbit rocket motors and propellant.
Other rockets avoid this by having a multi-stage design. The heaviest first stage is suborbital so the danger zone is known in advance. When launching from coastal launch pads, you can plan for a safe reentry into remote open water.
Upper stages do reach orbit and they are a hazard. If there is no reserve propellant remaining, they stay in orbit, adding to the space debris problem. They may eventually reenter uncontrolled. The risk is much lower than a CZ-5B since they are much smaller.
If there is extra propellant available, it is used to restart the main engine for a controlled reentry into remote open water. Upper stages usually have restart capability since it is often needed for many payloads. No additional hardware is needed.
madires:
From 2020:
An out-of-control Chinese rocket may have dumped debris in Africa after falling from space (https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/13/21256484/china-rocket-debris-africa-uncontrolled-reentry-long-march-5b)
And from 2021:
Huge Chinese rocket booster falls to Earth over Arabian Peninsula (https://www.space.com/chinese-rocket-booster-long-march-5b-space-junk-crash)
madires:
Not Long March 5, but SpaceX Dragon (launched in 2020): Huge Piece of Space Rocket Falls From Sky and Lands on Sheep Farm (https://www.newsweek.com/huge-piece-space-rocket-falls-sky-lands-sheep-farm-1729111)
SiliconWizard:
I wonder how much atmospheric pollution all those objects falling back to earth create? :popcorn:
wraper:
--- Quote from: madires on July 30, 2022, 06:54:53 pm ---Not Long March 5, but SpaceX Dragon (launched in 2020): Huge Piece of Space Rocket Falls From Sky and Lands on Sheep Farm (https://www.newsweek.com/huge-piece-space-rocket-falls-sky-lands-sheep-farm-1729111)
--- End quote ---
Well, Dragon is not a rocket but spacecraft. Reading the news source there is no definite answer part of what it really is, just speculation. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-29/space-junk-found-in-nsw-snowy-mountains-paddocks-/101277542 IMHO those do not look like pieces of Dragon trunk. BTW I would not touch space debris just like that because it may contain UDMH or some other nasty stuff.
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