It was the vector’s phase that brought the first batch of the Tiankang space station into orbit. Sardinia is also on the way back
Rome. The position of the Chinese Long March 5B rocket, which orbited the first batch of the Tiangang space station on April 29, is in an uncontrollable fall. The news was confirmed to ANSA by Luciano Anselmo of the Information Science and Technology Institute of the National Research Council of Pisa (ISTI-CNR). “This is the second time in this version of the rocket. First – he notes – in 2020, pieces fell on some villages in West Africa “, but then the news of the Govt-19 epidemic went almost unnoticed.
This version of the Long March rocket was first launched in May 2020, which put the Chinese astronaut spacecraft into orbit for a drone test flight. Even then, the main stage of the 20-ton rocket fell to the ground uncontrollably. The launch on April 29 was flawless, but the truth is, “After launch, the rocket dropped into orbit and no longer showed signs of life,” Anselmo said. That is, it acts like a “passive vehicle” and the only influence under it is “the brake of the atmosphere, which causes it to fall back towards the earth”.
Suspicion is confirmed by the orbit it describes, as did its predecessor in 2020, and by the prototype of the old Chinese space station in 2018. Currently – he observes – the fall is likely to occur between 41.5 degrees in the north and 41.5 degrees in the south, and this includes central and southern Italy.
However, making any decisions is very quick because changes in orbit can occur. “The return – the expert says – may be in the middle of next week, with some days of uncertainty”. In the basic version of the long March 5, the main stage does not reach orbit and sinks into the sea as soon as it carries its load to the desired height, but the 5B version is used to keep very heavy loads in very low orbit. An, Anselmo observes, was the first center of the Chinese space station. Basically, all rocket propulsion is used to bring an exceptional load to its target, after which its revenue cannot be controlled. “A year ago the rocket platform fell on West Africa and the pieces fell on some villages.” If the emergency of the epidemic hides what happened, the story opens the eyes of the space community; The question arose as to why there was no attempt to move the rocket phase to another orbit. There were believers – says Anselmo – after that time China will try a limited income. (On the handle)
