For the third time, the remains of a Chinese rocket would impact the Earth and there is a possibility that it falls somewhere in Argentina.
According to a report provided by the United States Space Command, debris from the spacecraft will fall during the next week -possibly on August 1- between latitudes 41° North and 41° South. This means that it is possible that they fall in some area of Argentina.
The Long March 5B rocket Its mission was to carry a module that was going to dock with the Chinese space station Tiangong, which was successfully carried out on July 24, but the central stage of the rocket, weighing 21 metric tons, orbits the Earth and gradually descends into a “runaway re-entry”reported the Aerospace portal.
The 20-tonne object will disintegrate upon hitting Earth’s atmosphere, although the fragments will disperse in an undetermined area for now.
Specialists point out that it will be possible to know exactly the place of impact one hour after the re-entry of the rocket into terrestrial space.
Santa Fe, possible impact site
Other specialists predict that the rocket will fall on Saturday, July 30 at 9:24 p.m. (Argentine time)However, they warn that the margin of error is 16 hours before or 16 hours after. To fall a little earlier than expected, Santa Fe is one of the provinces in which its parts could impact.
“If the rocket falls at 9:24 p.m., as planned, it will fall on Iraq, in the north of the Arabian Peninsula. But since the margin of error is 16 hours before or after, it can fall between Saturday the 30th at 5:20 a.m. the morning, or on Sunday the 31st at 1:24 p.m.,” Argentine spaceflight expert Diego Córdova told the site Aire.
In this regard, he noted that If the parts of the rocket fall before 9:24 p.m. on Saturday the 30th, that is, at 7 or 8 p.m., “they are going to fall on us,” in relation to the province of Santa Fe.
The expert clarified that the possibility is still minimal, but real. “We have to take into account that the Earth has 70% water, which reduces the possibility, in addition there are many desert places, so the chance of it falling on someone’s head is minimal.”Cordova said.
The word of the specialists and China’s response
Numerous specialists have been denouncing that the accumulation of space debris means that the risk of it falling to earth and impacting a populated area grows day by day. An avoidable risk since it is possible to cause controlled “readmissions”.
From China they reject the accusations made against them from the West, pointing out that “exaggerate fears” and accuse NASA scientists of acting “against their conscience”due to political pressure.