Chinese Space Debris Reportedly Crashes Down In Philippines

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Chinese Space Debris Reportedly Crashes Down In Philippines

Chinese space debris from yet another of its heavy-lift Long March 5B rockets has been found in Philippine waters, ABC News reports. The rocket debris is said to be from the Long March 5B that took off last week from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on Hainan island. The rocket was reportedly on a resupply mission to the Tiangong Chinese space station.

 

This isn’t the first time that the Philippines has seen Chinese space junk crashing down on it. According to the report, Philippine Space Agency officials are trying to convince authorities in Manila to sign UN treaties for space junk.

 

What Happens After Treaties Are Ratified?

If authorities in the Philippines sign those treaties, citizens of the country would be able to seek restitution for any loss, injury, or damage caused by space debris crashing down. It makes sense for officials to be concerned because the Philippines are directly under China’s space flight path.

Previously, the island nation was hit by Long March 5B junk twice — once when the rocket launched and once at the end.

"This shows that the risk is higher for us," an official quoted by The Inquirer at the time, "because we are under the flight path of most Chinese rocket launches."

Space Debris Crashes Could Be Devastating

While none of the recent Long March 5B debris crashed near the Philippines hit land, it’s very much likely. Such debris is most likely to fall into the water, but it still poses a great risk to aircraft, ships, fishing boats, and other vessels that might pass through the drop zone.

While no lives have been lost due to space debris crashing down on Earth, there’s still a significant amount of threat involved. Experts have warned that there’s a 10 percent chance that space debris could cause casualties in the next 10 years.

China hasn’t expressed any concern about its rockets that are leaving a huge mess behind. And since the world is yet to see international governance for ensuring that all countries with a presence in space keep potentially hazardous debris in check, China has little reason to mend its ways.

Chinese Aircraft Released Mysterious Object In Space

China’s top-secret spaceplane launched around three months ago has released an unknown object in orbit. The mysterious object is following the spaceplane. China still hasn’t put out any word regarding the purpose behind the launching of the spaceplane.

The unknown object was released into orbit sometime between October 24 and October 31, according to the tracking data that the US Space Force's 18th pace Defense Squadron has studied.

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