--- title: "Chinese Rocket Officially Plummeting Down to Earth" description: "A massive piece of Chinese space junk is slowly making its descent back down to Earth — and nobody is entirely sure where it will fall." date: "2022-07-27" modified: "2022-07-27" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/chinese-rocket-plummeting-down-earth" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "china" - "long march 5b" - "the digest" --- # Chinese Rocket Officially Plummeting Down to Earth ![A massive piece of Chinese space junk is slowly making its descent back down to Earth — and nobody is entirely sure where it will fall.]() *\Image: STR/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Space Junkie A massive piece of Chinese space junk is slowly making its descent back down to Earth — and nobody is entirely sure where it will fall. The 25-ton Long March 5B core stage, dubbed CZ-5B R, was used to [launch a rand new science laboratory module]() for the country's growing space station over the weekend. Now, [experts are tracking]() the rocket stage's gradual reentry, with Aerospace Corporation predicting it will [reenter the atmosphere on Sunday](). And that could potentially end in disaster. Since the rocket stage doesn't have any way to change its own trajectory, it will simply plummet back down to Earth and land where it may — reckless behavior that has been [decried by NASA in the past](). "Due to the uncontrolled nature of its descent, there is a non-zero probability of the surviving debris landing in a populated area — over 88 percent of the world’s population lives under the reentry’s potential debris footprint," the Aerospace Corporation noted in a Tuesday [blog post](). ## Litter Patter According to the Corporation, only 20 to 40 percent of the mass of such a large object is likely to make it down to the ground after its fiery descent. In this case, that'd still amount to several tons of metal. It's not the first time China's space program has pulled such a stunt. Over the last two years, the country has already launched Long March 5B missions followed by an uncontrolled reentry on two occasions. In 2020, massive pieces of shrapnel [showering down a small village]() on the Ivory Coast in West Africa. Last year, the rocket used to launch the core module of China's space station [splashed down]() in the Indian Ocean. While we have yet to hear reports of anybody getting hurt because of these uncontrolled reentries, that [doesn't mean they won't in the future](). In short, it's a careless way to dispose of a rocket stage, especially considering the advent of reusable rockets. "This risk is entirely avoidable since technologies and mission designs now exist that can provide controlled reentries (usually into remote areas of oceans) instead of uncontrolled and therefore entire random ones," space junk expert and University of British Columbia professor Michael Byers [told *CNN*](). **READ MORE:** [Big Chinese rocket body will fall to Earth around July 31, experts predict]() \[*Space.com*\] **More on the launch:** *[China Is Sending More Space Junk Hurtling Down to Earth]()* ## 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]()