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U.S. military tracking unguided re-entry of large Chinese rocket
spaceflightnow ^ | May 9, 2020  | Stephen Clark

Posted on 05/09/2020 9:56:41 PM PDT by BenLurkin

The core stage of China’s Long March 5B rocket is expected to fall back to Earth unguided after nearly a week in orbit. The Long March 5B rocket launched May 5 with a prototype for a next-generation Chinese crew capsule.

As of Saturday, the rocket stage was circling Earth in an elliptical orbit ranging between 94 miles (152 kilometers) and 167 miles (270 kilometers) in altitude, according to U.S. military tracking data. A prediction issued Saturday by the U.S. military, which tracks objects in orbit, forecasts the rocket’s re-entry in a 24-hour period between 2335 GMT (7:35 p.m. EDT) Sunday and 2335 GMT (7:35 p.m. EDT) Monday.

But uncontrolled re-entries are difficult to predict, and the forecast could change as ground-based radars continue tracking the Long March 5B rocket body in orbit. Changes in atmospheric drag and solar activity could move time of re-entry earlier or later.

A one-minute error in predicting the re-entry time changes the location of potential falling debris by nearly 300 miles, or about 500 kilometers, according to the Aerospace Corp.

The Long March 5B rocket body is in an orbit that flies between 41.1 degrees north and south latitude, meaning the re-entry could occur as far north as around New York City, or as far south as Wellington, New Zealand.

The core stage of the Long March 5B rocket measures around 100 feet (30 meters) long and 16 feet (5 meters) wide.

With the tanks empty, the Long March 5B’s core stage stage has a mass of roughly 20 metric tons.

That makes the Long March 5B core stage the most massive object to make an uncontrolled re-entry since the Soviet Union’s Salyut 7 space station in 1991...

(Excerpt) Read more at spaceflightnow.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: china; elonmusk; falcon9; falconheavy; longmarch5b; newyork; newyorkcity; newzealand; spacex; wellington
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1 posted on 05/09/2020 9:56:41 PM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin; Moonman62
That's weird, lately the Chinese rockets (it's okay to call 'em Chinese, right?) have broken apart on the way up, not down.

2 posted on 05/09/2020 10:16:09 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: BenLurkin

We need to start a prayer chain to have the debris land on Chicomm Headquarters in Beijing.


3 posted on 05/09/2020 10:19:16 PM PDT by BTerclinger (MAGA)
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To: BenLurkin

Now might be a good opportunity to let the nascent United States Space Force show the Chinese what it’s defensive capabilities are.


4 posted on 05/09/2020 10:23:07 PM PDT by Viking2002 (Why should I walk into the great unknown, when I can sit here, and throw my bones?)
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To: BenLurkin

I guess I fail to see the reason for naming the rocket “long march”. Wasn’t that event a retreat of chinese commie forces? I’m fairly convinced that during their long march, that even though it was very long, and through some tough countryside, they probably took anything they needed from the locals as they passed through.


5 posted on 05/09/2020 10:54:19 PM PDT by Zuriel (Acts 2:38,39....Do you believe it?)
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To: BenLurkin

Later launches will have the crew capsule stay up in orbit, loaded with a few guided H-bombs.


6 posted on 05/09/2020 11:06:12 PM PDT by jonrick46 (Cultural Marxism is the cult of the Left waiting for the Mothership.)
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To: BenLurkin

Praying that it lands on Goober Gag-me Nuisance. Even better, take out all of Sacramento!


7 posted on 05/09/2020 11:08:20 PM PDT by FlyFisher
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To: jonrick46

From the article:

ground.

A Long March 5B rocket lifts off from the Wenchang launch center May 5. Credit: CASC
Space agencies, launch operators and satellite companies often try to guide spent rocket stages and aging satellites toward re-entries over the ocean, reducing the risk that debris could fall over a populated area.

In the case of the Long March 5B, the core stage delivered its payload — a prototype Chinese crew capsule — into a low-altitude orbit. The heavy-lift Long March 5B is designed to directly inject payloads into low Earth orbit without an upper stage, meaning the core stage also ends up in orbit, instead of immediately falling back to Earth in a predetermined downrange drop zone.

China plans to launch at least three more Long March 5B rockets in 2021 and 2022 with modules for the country’s planned space station, so more uncontrolled rocket re-entries are expected in the next couple of years.

After the Tiangong 1 space lab re-entered the atmosphere unguided in 2018, China performed a controlled de-orbit of the follow-on Tiangong 2 spacecraft in 2019.

The most massive human-made object to re-enter the atmosphere from orbit was Russia’s Mir space station, which made a guided re-entry over the South Pacific Ocean in 2001. NASA and Russia’s space agency have plans to eventually execute a controlled re-entry of the International Space Station at the end of its service life.

China doesn’t care where their crap lands.


8 posted on 05/09/2020 11:08:49 PM PDT by datura
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To: BenLurkin

China is unstable. China is very dangerous. China is unpredictable. America “dictates” where China goes because China OWNS America.


9 posted on 05/09/2020 11:12:53 PM PDT by shanover (...To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.-S.Adams)
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To: BTerclinger

Or DC, their other headquarters.


10 posted on 05/09/2020 11:18:03 PM PDT by deadrock
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To: shanover

China owns just over 1 trillion out of $23 trillion in debt.

That’s a small minority. Nice try.


11 posted on 05/09/2020 11:19:08 PM PDT by datura
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To: datura
That’s a small minority. Nice try.

They own our news media and a lot of Senators.

12 posted on 05/09/2020 11:46:43 PM PDT by Spirochete (GOP: Gutless Old Party)
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To: Spirochete; datura
They own our news media and a lot of Senators.

And they own not a few Congressman, former presidents, generals, university professors, deans and administrators, foundations, research labs, and multinational corporations.


13 posted on 05/10/2020 12:41:54 AM PDT by nathanbedford (attack, repeat, attack! Bull Halsey)
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To: shanover

Starting with those in the C-suites of our media megacorporations.

Curious Why US News Networks Are Supportive of Chinese Government? Just Look at the Corporate Ownership
https://townhall.com/columnists/bradslager/2020/04/24/curious-why-us-news-networks-are-supportive-of-chinese-government-just-look-at-the-corporate-ownership-n2567504

We will never have an honest national discussion about Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party and the pandemic they inflicted on us if our media megacorporations have anything to say about it. And they do. Their C-suites are heavily invested in China. For one example of many Disney has a theme park in Shanghai and movie releases constantly. Do you think Disney-owned ABC News will say anything that might imperil those investments?


14 posted on 05/10/2020 1:36:33 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: deadrock

( : > )


15 posted on 05/10/2020 2:26:52 AM PDT by BTerclinger (MAGA)
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To: BenLurkin

>>flies between 41.1 degrees north and south latitude, meaning the re-entry could occur as far north as around New York City,<<

Whew, gonna miss me. I live at 41.16 latitude. Might hit the mountain just south of me though.

Of course, if it were to hit NYC, it would be about normal for this year and frankly be an act of war. How about you stop putting your junk into orbit if you can’t get it down safely?


16 posted on 05/10/2020 4:55:02 AM PDT by Malsua
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To: datura

In the case of the Long March 5B, the core stage delivered its payload — a prototype Chinese crew capsule — into a low-altitude orbit. The heavy-lift Long March 5B is designed to directly inject payloads into low Earth orbit without an upper stage, meaning the core stage also ends up in orbit, instead of immediately falling back to Earth in a predetermined downrange drop zone.

China plans to launch at least three more Long March 5B rockets in 2021 and 2022 with modules for the country’s planned space station, so more uncontrolled rocket re-entries are expected in the next couple of years.

...

So the core is actually a second stage. The side boosters are the first stage.

Responsible countries and corporations keep enough propellant on their second stages, so their reentries can be controlled. China needs to be held accountable, as usual.


17 posted on 05/10/2020 5:01:04 AM PDT by Moonman62 (http://www.freerepublic.com/~moonman62/)
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To: datura

The most massive human-made object to re-enter the atmosphere from orbit was Russia’s Mir space station, which made a guided re-entry over the South Pacific Ocean in 2001. NASA and Russia’s space agency have plans to eventually execute a controlled re-entry of the International Space Station at the end of its service life.

...

The most expensive man made object ever built will end up as scrap at the bottom of the ocean. Thank you Big Government.


18 posted on 05/10/2020 5:04:14 AM PDT by Moonman62 (http://www.freerepublic.com/~moonman62/)
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To: BenLurkin

Fox News had a very interesting piece on their Saturday afternoon programming yesterday. IT was all about the new Chinese military, showing tons of new Red military items, new ships, carriers, missiles, one of which reaches the USA, ICBMs, thousands of new tanks, rockets, artillery pieces, other new track vehicles that can carry rockets. This program said that lots of the equipment looked like OURS, and it was from the Red’s theft of our plans for lots of our planes, tanks, rockets, etc. Their theft is on going right now as Chinese agents are in the US right now trying to steal the next rockets. SO, AMERICA KEEP BYING THAT CHEAP Red Chines crap, paying for THEIR MILITARY HARDWARE which they are going to use to destroy this nation!!! Keep it up folks. Buy, buy, buy. Hundreds of thousands of Red Chinese agents are here, stealing everything they can use to destroy us. They don’t have to spend the time creating stuff, they steal OURS!!! Ain’t the Commie Dims in Congress great as they SUPPORT the coming death of their own families by the Red Chinese. AND, yours and mine. They have gained on us with military hardware. Because they are making ours. Their tanks look a lot like our Abrams tank. Got the plans to that also I presume.


19 posted on 05/10/2020 5:10:32 AM PDT by RetiredArmy (The Bible predicted these type of days. Pray to the LORD GOD for mercy on this Republic.)
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To: BTerclinger

Or maybe it would land on Adam Schiff.


20 posted on 05/10/2020 5:17:09 AM PDT by Fido969 (In!)
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