--- title: "China Is Sending More Space Junk Hurtling Down to Earth" description: "This weekend, China plans to launch a powerful Long March 5B rocket — and it's likely that parts of junk from the rocket will crash land back onto Earth." date: "2022-07-22" modified: "2022-07-22" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-space-junk-hurtling-earth" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "china" - "long march 5b" - "space debris" - "the digest" --- # China Is Sending More Space Junk Hurtling Down to Earth ![This weekend, China plans to launch a powerful Long March 5B rocket — and it's likely that parts of junk from the rocket will crash land back onto Earth.]() *\Image: STR/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Watch Out Below! Heads up, literally. This weekend, China plans to launch a powerful Long March 5B rocket called the *Wentian* from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan — and taking into account the history of the country's Long March 5B spacecraft, it's pretty likely parts of the rocket will crash land back onto Earth. As [*Gizmodo* reports](), the 174-foot-tall rocket launching this Sunday from Hainan is the third of its kind, all of which have thus far made chaotic, haphazard re-entries that resulted in unpredictable crashes around the world. ## Rocket Rampage Following a launch back in 2020, uncontrollable Long March 5B debris [crashed into Africa's west coast](), thankfully hurting no one but damaging some structures. Then, just last spring, the Chinese government confirmed that debris from the same model had [hurtled into the Indian Ocean]() after [widespread speculation]() about where it would land. NASA condemned the 2021 crash at the time, with agency chief Bill Nelson [declaring in a statement]() that it was "clear that China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris." As *Gizmodo* points out, space agencies are lucky that [no people have been hurt]() so far by showering chunks of [space junk](). Yet according to a study [published in *Nature Astronomy*](), the next decade presents a 10 percent risk that the debris [will indeed cause human casualties]() — and that doesn't even take animal and environmental impact into consideration. ## Get Ready China is in the process of constructing its [Tiangong space station]() — that is, the nation's answer to the US- and Russia-managed ISS. The Long March 5B rockets are being used to help build the orbital outpost, and it's probably safe to say that the nation will continue to launch them until Tiangong is complete. Unfortunately, experts think that this weekend's launch is cause for concern. When *Gizmodo* asked Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, if another crash is likely after Sunday's takeoff, the scientist was less than optimistic. "I would say it is almost certain," said McDowell. "I will be very pleasantly surprised if they have changed the core stage design. I expect they have not and we are up for another ride like the last time." **READ MORE:** [*Another Chinese Rocket Could Be Headed for a Dangerous Uncontrolled Reentry*]() \[*Gizmodo*\] **More on space junk solutions:** [*China Crashed Spacecraft into the Moon so It Wouldn't Become Space Junk*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()