Chinese Rocket To Crash Somewhere Near or in U.S. Saturday
You might have missed this little oops moment. A large portion of a Chinese rocket is set to crash somewhere in North or South America this weekend. The problem is, we won't know exactly where until it gets a few hours from reaching the ground.
China launched its rocket on April 29, carrying a space station module. The space station named Heavenly Harmony is the first space station for China that will be able to hold astronauts for an extended period of time. The piece making its way back to earth is part of the first stage to get off of the ground. Typically, these parts fall out into the ocean and cause no issues. The problem with this situation is that it ended up in space and floated around a bit before it began its descent back to Earth.
The Chinese Government has said they do not think it will hurt anything upon returning due to the fact that it should burn up totally on reentry into the atmosphere. Experts with Aerospace Corp. are saying debris could hit anywhere from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic, or anywhere in-between. Well, the United States is in that "anywhere in-between" part.
This isn't the first time this has happened, either. In May, an 18-ton Chinese rocket lost control and ended up crashing in the Pacific Ocean after making its way over the California coastline. The current rocket is over 170 feet tall and is expected to make atmospheric entry sometime this Saturday.