Weighing around 22.5 tonnes, the rocket is one of the most massive pieces of space junk to make an uncontrolled re-entry into the atmosphere — and its expected to hit this weekend.
The US military says it has no plans to shoot down debris from an out-of-control Chinese rocket that is barreling towards Earth.Experts believe the rocket is making an uncontrolled descent to Earth at speeds of around 7km per secondAnother Chinese rocket fell uncontrolled into the Atlantic Ocean last Maycarrying the main part of China's first permanent space station.as early as Sunday afternoonUS Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday that there was no plan to shoot the rocket down.
"We're hopeful that it will land in a place where it won't harm anyone, hopefully in the ocean or someplace like that," he said.space experts say that does not appear to be happening in this caseBasic details about the rocket stage and its trajectory are all unknown because of the lack of communication from the Chinese government.
"For those of us who operate in the space domain there is a requirement — there should be a requirement — to operate in a safe and thoughtful mode and make sure that we take those kinds of things into consideration as we plan and conduct operations," General Austin said. Chinese state-owned media outlet The Global Times described reports that the rocket was "out of control" and could cause damage as "Western hype".
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