China is closely tracking massive Long March 5B rocket heading to earth

The debris of the massive 23-ton Chinese rocket is heading towards earth and is expected to re-enter Earth this week in an uncontrolled way. While the US Space Command has predicted that the 23-ton Long March 5B rocket debris will fall to earth on Jul 31, 2022, Beijing too is keeping a close track of it. The Beijing government told Reuters that the falling debris could pose little risk to anyone on the ground. The massive Chinese rocket took off from Hainan Island at 2:22 p.m. local time on Sunday, July 24 to deliver the Wentian laboratory module for China's under-construction Tiangong space station. It has marked the third flight of China's most powerful rocket since its maiden launch in 2020. After completing its task it has gone into an uncontrolled descent toward Earth's atmosphere and is speculated to fall back to Earth.

According to reports, the rocket has already reached low orbit and is expected to fall towards Earth once atmospheric friction drags it downward. The rocket’s main-core stage – is 100 feet (30 meters) long and it weighs 22 tonnes (48,500 pounds). An independent U.S.-based analyst is quoted by the agency as saying, “Ultimately, the rocket body will disintegrate as it plunges through the atmosphere but is large enough that numerous chunks will likely survive a fiery re-entry to rain debris over an area some 2,000 km (1,240 miles) long by about 70 km (44 miles) wide.”

When will Chinese rocket debris fall on earth?

According to the data shared by the U.S Space Force's Space Surveillance Network the rocket's body will re-enter Earth's atmosphere around 3:30 a.m. EDT (0730 GMT) on July 31, plus or minus 22 hours. It is likely to re-enter earth’s atmosphere somewhere between 41 degrees north latitude and 41 degrees south latitude.