Last week, debris from a suspected Chinese booster rocket made an uncontrolled return to Earth, reportedly falling just metres from villages in Malaysia and Indonesia, and triggering a rebuke from Nasa. This follows the recent discovery of SpaceX debris on a sheep farm in regional NSW. Jane Lee speaks to ANU astrophysicist Dr Brad Tucker and reporter Natasha May about why more space junk is falling to Earth, what risks it poses to our safety How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know The Guardian
Tag: Space
Nasa criticises China after space rocket makes uncontrolled return to Earth
A Chinese booster rocket made an uncontrolled return to Earth on Saturday, US defense department officials said, as they chided Beijing for not sharing information on the potentially hazardous object’s descent. US Space Command confirmed the Long March 5B rocket re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian ocean on Saturday but referred any question regarding potential debris dispersal and impact location to China. The Long March 5B rocket was used last Sunday to launch an uncrewed spacecraft, named Wentian, carrying the second of three modules China needed to complete its…
Space junk set to crash into far side of moon and cause huge crater
In an unprecedented display of cosmic littering, a wayward rocket body will crash into the far side of the moon on Friday marking the first time that a piece of space junk has accidentally struck the lunar surface. The spent rocket booster, believed to be part of the Chinese Chang’e 5-T1 mission which swung around the moon in 2014, is predicted to slam into the Hertzsprung crater at 12.25pm GMT, though the precise time and location are unclear. Travelling at more than 5,500mph (2.5km per second), the tumbling 4 tonne…
Space junk on collision course with the moon likely a Chinese rocket – experts
The moon is about to get walloped by 3 tons of space junk, a punch that will carve out a crater that could fit several semi-tractor-trailers. The leftover rocket will smash into the far side of the moon at 5,800mph (9,300km/h) on Friday, away from telescopes’ prying eyes. It may take weeks, even months, to confirm the impact through satellite images. It’s been tumbling haphazardly through space, experts believe, since China launched it nearly a decade ago. But Chinese officials are dubious it’s theirs. No matter whose it is, scientists…
China anger after space station forced to move to avoid Elon Musk Starlink satellites
Beijing has called on the UN to remind the US to abide by the treaty regulating outer space after space satellites launched by tech tycoon Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX almost collided with its space station twice in the past year. China said its space station deployed prevention collision avoidance control measures in July and October to avoid colliding with Starlink satellites in a recent report submitted by Beijing to the UN’s Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space earlier this month. “China wishes to request the secretary general…
US ‘very concerned’ despite China denials over hypersonic missile
The United States is “very concerned” about China’s development of hypersonic technology, the US disarmament ambassador, Robert Wood, has said, after reports that Beijing had recently launched a hypersonic missile with a nuclear capacity. “We are very concerned by what China has been doing on the hypersonic front,” Robert Wood told reporters in Geneva. The Financial Times reported on Saturday that Beijing had launched a nuclear-capable missile in August that circled the Earth at low orbit before narrowly missing its target. Citing multiple sources, the FT claimed the hypersonic missile…