---
title: "Oops, More Huge Chinese Space Debris Is Tumbling Back to Earth"
description: "China's rocket launcher Long March 5B will soon have uncontrolled reentry as it falls back to Earth. Learn why scientists are worried."
date: "2021-04-30"
modified: "2021-05-05"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/oops-more-huge-chinese-space-debris-is-tumbling-back-to-earth"
categories:
  - "Off-World"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "china"
  - "china space station"
  - "long march-5"
  - "uncontrolled reentry"
---

# Oops, More Huge Chinese Space Debris Is Tumbling Back to Earth

![A massive Long March 5B core stage that recently helped launch the first piece of China's space station will soon make its uncontrolled reentry.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/chinese-rocket-space-debris-tumbling.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3131540/lift-chinas-tiangong-space-station-ambitions" target="\_blank"\>Xinhua via SCMP\</a\>\</em\>*

China successfully launched the [first base module of its space station](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-launches-first-module-space-station>) earlier this week. But while the Long March 5B rocket — the largest in the country's growing fleet of launch vehicles — successfully made the drop-off, it's now likely to hurtle uncontrollably back down through the Earth's atmosphere, [*SpaceNews* reports](<https://spacenews.com/huge-rocket-looks-set-for-uncontrolled-reentry-following-chinese-space-station-launch/>).

The rocket used four boosters and a massive core stage to get the 22.5 metric-ton module into orbit, but as the core stage's orbit starts to decay, it will likely tumble and make an uncontrolled reentry some time in the upcoming weeks.

It wouldn't be the first time, either. In May 2020, a Long March 5B rocket core sprayed large pieces of metal debris as it [slammed into a small village on the Côte d’Ivoire](<https://futurism.com/chinese-rocket-reportedly-dropped-debris-africa>) in West Africa after a similarly uncontrolled reentry. Images [showed massive pieces of metal](<https://www.newsweek.com/debris-chinese-rocket-africa-1503950>) recovered by locals.

At the time, spaceflight observer Jonathan McDowell claimed it was the [fourth most massive](<https://weather.com/news/news/2020-05-12-pieces-of-a-chinese-rocket-fell-uncontrollably-to-earth>) uncontrolled reentry ever.

Unless it completely burns up in the atmosphere, an unlikely outcome, this latest Long March 5B core could become one of the largest pieces of debris that made such an uncontrolled reentry in history, according to *SpaceNews*.

The danger is obvious: it **c**ould be a disaster if the core stage were to fall on an inhabited area.

Not every core stage makes it all the way into orbit. Many are designed to reach high altitudes, deorbit themselves, and descend in pre-defined reentry zones.

Experts were initially expecting the Long March 5B core stage to deorbit itself upon reaching space. But it never made such a maneuver.

That means officials on the ground are now trying to get ahead of where the rocket will fall. It's a near impossible task, as it circles the Earth every 90 minutes. A few minutes could mean a change in reentry point of thousands of kilometers, according to *SpaceNews*.

China isn't the only country that has had pieces of rocket make uncontrolled reentries. Most recently, a SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage [fell from the sky](<https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/03/a-falcon-9-rockets-second-stage-just-burnt-up-over-seattle/>), splashing into the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately, nobody was hurt — but event did end up putting on an [amazing light show](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-rocket-stage-burn-atmosphere>) in the night sky above Seattle.

**READ MORE:** [Huge rocket looks set for uncontrolled reentry following Chinese space station launch](<https://spacenews.com/huge-rocket-looks-set-for-uncontrolled-reentry-following-chinese-space-station-launch/>) \[*SpaceNews*\]

**More on the space station:** *[China Releases Video of Space Station Module Entering Orbit](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-video-space-station-module-orbit>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)