Relief as China says rocket debris crashed into Indian Ocean

Debris from a Chinese rocket landed in the Indian Ocean on Sunday, with most of the components burning up upon re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere.

The uncontrolled nature of the rocket’s descent had generated speculations and concern over where it would land.

TheCable had on Saturday reported that there was a tiny chance that the scattered pieces of the rocket could hit Abuja, Beijing, New York, Los Angeles, Madrid, or Rio de Janeiro.

There was apprehension across the world over the potential impact, given that in 2020, debris from another Chinese rocket crashed into Ivory Coast, where it damaged several buildings.

But on Sunday, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), in a statement, said the Long March 5B rocket re-entered the atmosphere at 10:24am Beijing time (02:24 am GMT).

The coordinates given by Chinese state media put the point of impact in the Indian Ocean near the Maldives.

“The vast majority of the device burned up during the reentry, and the landing area of the debris is around a sea area with the center at 2.65 degrees north latitude and 72.47 degrees east longitude,” it said.

The US military’s space command also confirmed the re-entry of the rocket over the Arabian Peninsula but said it was unknown if the debris impacted land or water.

“The exact location of the impact and the span of debris, both of which are unknown at this time, will not be released by U.S. Space Command,” it said.

The Long March 5B rocket was launched on April 29 at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in China. It was used to launch the main module of the country’s first permanent space station that will host astronauts long term.