A Chinese rocket deorbited over Minnesota and left this in a farmer's cornfield
All the evidence points to the debris being part of a Chinese Zhuque-2E rocket.
All the evidence points to the debris being part of a Chinese Zhuque-2E rocket.
The short version
- About a month ago, a Chinese rocket took off from a remote spaceport in the Gobi Desert, released 10 satellites into orbit, then reignited its engine and put itself on a trajectory to rain down debris over the American Midwest.
- The rocket’s flight on September 15 lasted between 75 and 80 minutes, and it came down without completing a full orbit of the Earth.
- Social media posts at the time showed streaks of fiery debris falling from the sky, heading north over Kansas toward Minnesota .
What happened
The overnight spectacle was also visible on the western horizon from Wisconsin . The exact time, location, and direction of the debris allowed experts to connect it to the launch of a Zhuque-2E rocket, a medium-lift vehicle built by a Chinese company called LandSpace.
Why it matters
The rocket had launched from Dongfeng, a commercial launch zone co-located with the military-run Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, less than two hours before.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.