21-Ton Chinese Rocket Is Falling To Earth, No One Knows Where It's Crashing

A massive 21-ton part of a Chinese rocket is falling right on to Earth uncontrollably and it could hit a wide range of populated areas in the world.?

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This rocket was responsible for the deployment of the first module of the Tianhe (Heavenly Harmony) Space Station. The massive chunk of metal is actually the core of the Long March 5B rocket, which is 30 metres high.?

The rocket was recently blasted into space on April 29 from a space station at Wenchang in China’s Hainan Province. After successfully deploying the first module, the Long March 5B transitioned into a temporary orbit, setting a course for an uncontrolled reentry -- one of the largest ever.?

Now while approaching Earth, most space debris is known to go up in flames and disintegrate while entering. But this rocket with its fairly large size doesn’t break up that well in the atmosphere.??

Reported first by Space News, Jonathan McDowell, Astrophysicist at the Astrophysics Center at Harvard University explains, “It’s potentially not good. Last time they launched a Long March 5B rocket they ended up with big long rods of metal flying through the sky and damaging several buildings in the Ivory Coast.”

He added, “Most of it burned up, but there were these enormous pieces of metal that hit the ground. We are very lucky no one was hurt. What’s bad is that it’s really negligent on China’s part. Things more than ten tonnes we don’t let them fall out of the sky uncontrolled deliberately.”

As of Tuesday, this core was orbiting our planet every 90 minutes at a speed of 27,600 kilometres per hour at an altitude of over 300 kilometres. Since this weekend, it has dropped 80 kilometres in altitude.?

Representational Image: Getty Images

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Could it crash land in India?

It seems highly unlikely. the rocket was tumbling uncontrollably. Moreover, this makes it difficult for them to predict where it would land. McDowell predicted that it will fall into the sea as the Earth is 71 percent water.

As per its current orbit, the rocket is passing over Earth as far north as New York, Madrid and Beijing and as far south as southern Chile and Wellington, New Zealand, -- basically these locations are hotspots for the crash.