The core stage of another Chinese Long March 5B rocket will fall wildly to Earth this week after delivering China's third and final space station module. The 25-ton rocket stage, which launched
Oct. 31 to transport the Mengtian laboratory cabin module to the Tiangong space station, is expected to reenter Earth's atmosphere on Nov. 5 at 11:51 p.m. EDT, give or take 14 hours.
The Aerospace Corporation, a California-based government-funded nonprofit research institution, says the likely debris field covers the U.S., Central and South America,
Africa, India, China, Southeast Asia, and Australia. This is China's fourth rocket launch in two years
First stage rocket boosters are bulkiest, most powerful, and least likely to burn up on reentry. There are solutions. Engineers angle rockets so booster portions land in the water instead of space.
The T-shaped Tiangong space station will stay in low Earth orbit for at least 10 years. Three-person teams will utilise the station to test new technology including ultracold atomic clocks.