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Chinese rocket debris is hurtling back to Earth — and scientists aren't sure where it will land - CBS News

Chinese rocket debris is hurtling back to Earth — and scientists aren't sure where it will land - CBS News

Chinese rocket debris is hurtling back to Earth — and scientists aren't sure where it will land - CBS News
May 06, 2021 1 min, 15 secs

A huge piece of space junk is about to make an uncontrolled re-entry back into Earth's atmosphere, threatening to drop debris on a number of cities around the world in the coming days.

The 46,000-pound Chinese rocket Long March-5B recently launched the first module for the country's new space station into orbit.

Space Command is aware of and tracking the location of the Chinese Long March 5B in space, but its exact entry point into the Earth's atmosphere cannot be pinpointed until within hours of its reentry," Lt.

Space Command Public Affairs, told CBS News on Tuesday.

On Thursday, a defense official told CBS News that the rocket is now "projected to fall to Earth on Sunday, but where is still unknown." .

Despite much speculation, no one knows what will happen when the rocket enters Earth's atmosphere, or where the debris will fall.

Rocket debris from China's space station launch is hurtling back to Earth — and scientists aren't sure where it will land

According to CBS News' William Harwood, "a large portion of the rocket will burn up in the atmosphere and the odds of anyone or any specific community getting hit by surviving debris are remote."

"Why the Chinese rocket is coming down uncontrolled is not at all clear," Harwood said

In 2018, Tiangong 1, China's defunct space station, made an uncontrolled re-entry and landed somewhere in the Pacific Ocean

In May of last year, another Long March-5B rocket fell into the atmosphere, ultimately landing near the west coast of Africa

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