Posted on 01/12/2018 3:49:30 PM PST by BenLurkin
A Chinese Long March 3B rocket booster may have fallen from the sky and exploded near a town in southwest China today (Jan. 12) following a successful satellite launch, GBTimes reports.
The article features video and photos shared on social media by people who apparently saw the strap-on booster, one of four that helped launch the Long March 3B, fall from the sky and explode, as well as images of the burning booster on the ground. There are no reports of injuries due to the fall at this time, as the booster does not appear to have hit any buildings or people, according to the article.
The Long March 3B lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwest Sichuan Province at 7:18 p.m. local time (1118 GMT; 6:18 a.m. EST), successfully carrying two Beidou-3 GNSS satellites into orbit, according to a statement from the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (which uses the acronym CASC), which oversaw the launch. That statement does not mention the fallen booster.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
Why would a stage that is expended explode?
Propaganda Minister Sum Ting Wong should have a good explanation for this shortly. Stay tuned.
Could very well be a hoax. The video at the link of it falling looks like a toy.
Ever seen a cannonball hit the ground ?
The article states it was a booster. They are usually solid fuel and are ejected by the guidance system when the proper trajectory and velocity is reached. When they are ejected a signal is sent to blow the engine nozzle to terminate the thrust and the booster usually burns out but it seems in this case some of the fuel remained as it hit the ground.
True, but then the fuel would BURN, not “explode”.
Could just be the translation.
“photos shared on social media by people who apparently saw the strap-on booster, “
Are we sure this isn’t an email from Huma Abedin to Hillary Clinton?
Could just be the translation.
That or they mistook the rapid burning of the remaining propellant as an explosion. Most people are not very observant nor are they articulate.
It’s them damn Russians. First us then the Chinese.
Often government program solid rocket fuel is adulterated with something roughly equivalent to plastic explosive. Burning fuel confined in a booster body hitting the ground can easily progress from deflagration to detonation. Also hitting the ground at a transonic velocity provides enough energy to mix everything up with a shockwave, thus resulting in a physical effect energetically equivalent to an explosion.
Reveals a lot about how little the Chinese gov't cares about the citizenry. Dropping spent rocket boosters on the populated countryside is pretty anti-social....
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