Rocket debris from China’s recent satellite launch fell to ground near inhabited areas, where bystanders caught the fiery touchdown on tape.
The China National Space Administratio launched two satellites into orbit on Monday (Dec. 25) at 10:26 p.m. EST (0326 GMT Dec. 26 or 11:26 a.m. local time in China) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province. The Long March 3B rocket carried two satellites for China’s Beidou Navigation Satellite System, which is roughly similar to the GPS system utilized in North America.
While the satellites were successfully delivered into medium Earth orbit (MEO), side boosters of the Long March 3B multistage launch vehicle fell back to Earth and landed in South China’s Guangxi region, SpaceNews.com reported.
Related: China launches BeiDou navigation satellite to orbit (video)
Bystander footage shared on X (formally Twitter) by space journalist Andrew Jones, originally from Weibo, apparently shows certainly one of the boosters falling inside a forested area. The video shows an explosion. Reports also emerged of wreckage from the opposite booster that were said to have landed near a house.
Heads up: it has been some time, but this sort of falling booster motion was a feature of the Long March 3B launches of Beidou satellites from Xichang. https://t.co/rRM0mQ2g0p https://t.co/UnFXaoGgC4 pic.twitter.com/7XkRCTFLaWDecember 26, 2023
“The presence of reddish-brown gas or smoke indicative of nitrogen tetroxide is visible in each, while a yellowish gas, possibly the outcomes of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) fuel mixing with air, might be seen next to the constructing,” in keeping with SpaceNews.com.
“The primary stage and 4 side boosters of the Long March 3B use the hypergolic propellant combination of hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide. Each the nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer and UDMH fuel present serious health risks.”
This will not be the primary time rocket boosters related to Beidou satellite launches have reported to fall near inhabited areas. In 2019, a booster — which provides the essential thrust for lift-off after which separates from the predominant stage — fell back to Earth after launch and destroyed a house, in keeping with reports.
China has also been criticized repeatedly for allowing the large Long March 5 rocket to fall back to Earth naturally, causing space debris, following launches of the heavy-launch system.
China has inland launch sites, in comparison with coastal launch sites, which permit rocket debris to land within the ocean. Public notices and evacuations are issued ahead of such rocket launches to warn residents of potential risks from rocket debris.
Because the 57th and 58th Beidou satellites to be launched, the pair will act as backups and reduce the operational risks to the Beidou-3 system, which consists of satellites in MEO, geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) and inclined geosynchronous orbit (IGSO). This network of satellites ensures continuous and stable signal coverage for China’s global navigation systems.