Beijing, May 9 (UNI) Fragments of China’s Long March 5B (Chang Zheng 5B, or CZ-5B) rocket that launched with the first module for the country’s orbital station last month entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean on Sunday, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) said.
"On May 9, at 10:24 [02:24 GMT] the debris from the Chang Zheng 5B carrier rocket re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere, the location where the debris fell into the water is at longitude 72.47 degrees east, latitude 2.65 degrees north [next to the Maldives in the Indian Ocean]. Most of the debris burned up upon entry into the Earth’s atmosphere," CMSEO said.
China launched the Long March 5B carrier rocket with the main module (Tianhe, or "Harmony of the Heavens") for China's future orbital station at the end of April. Tianhe will be the control hub for the Tiangong (or "Heavenly Palace") orbital station that China wants to finish assembling by 2022.
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