Uncontrolled re-entries to Earth have become part of the space program in China .
There is no denying that China is making great strides in space exploration.
The Asian giant launched the second module of its own space station Tiangon (Heavenly Palace) on Sunday to great anticipation, putting itself on a par with the West and the International Space Station .
However, there is one area in which the Chinese space program is not so neat: what happens after the launch of its rockets .
While we have seen SpaceX redirect them to Earth for reuse and cheaper launches, China simply “forgets about its rockets.”
China celebrates yet another achievement in its space program and the world has to wonder: Where will the Long March 5B rocket go down?
Uncontrolled reentry: Is it dangerous?
Other space programs make controlled re-entries to prevent their rockets from falling into inhabited areas, but Long March 5B will return to Earth without any control.
The rocket is unlikely to land in a populated area. Planet Earth has 71% of its surface covered in water, where most rockets land.
Also re-entry into the atmosphere can disintegrate a large part of these rockets.
Having said all this, a tragedy is not impossible. In May 2020 we reported how debris from a Long March 5B fell in the Ivory Coast .
