 suggested that there is still too much uncertainty in the data and models to make a prediction. 'As the rocket body's altitude decreases and the re-entry approaches, the window will shrink, and will begin to reveal locations that will not be the landing site,' Henning told the Daily Mail. 'But the exact location will not be known until it actually enters.' The latest rocket malfunction mirrors a crash in July after space debris from a previous Chinese launch plummeted in the Indian Ocean near Malaysia. At the time experts failed to disclose its exact location following fears that it could have hit a populated town or village. But while major cities again appear to be safe from the falling debris on this occasion, Henning suggested that '88 percent of the world's population does live within those at-risk latitude bounds' of the booster's expected landing area. However, the odds of an individual being affected are said to be about six in 10 trillion. The 20-ton core stage was jettisoned during a mission to deliver a new module to China's space station. It's the fourth time that the country's space agency has permitted a potentially deadly uncontrolled descent in as many years. The 23-ton Long March 5B rocket which carried the Wentian laboratory module took off from Hainan Island. B){kind=link}
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A HUGE Chinese rocket part is falling back to Earth in an uncontrolled decent – and scientists have warned that it could land anywhere.
Debris from the 21-ton piece – which is the size of a 10-storey building – is expected to break the atmosphere soon, according to aerospace experts who are scrambling to determine its path back home.
It has prompted pleas for further information from the Chinese authorities after the rocket was launched from Tiangong Space Station on Monday.
Gregory Henning, Project Leader at The Aerospace Corporation’s Centre for Orbital Debris and Reentry Studies (CORDS) suggested that there is still too much uncertainty in the data and models to make a prediction.