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A large segment of China's Long March-5B rocket, pictured here during launch on April 29, is expected to make an uncontrolled re
A large segment of China's Long March-5B rocket, pictured here during launch on April 29, is expected to make an uncontrolled reentry into the Earth's atmosphere

A large segment of a Chinese rocket is expected to make an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on the weekend, but Beijing has downplayed fears and said there is a very low risk of any damage.

A Long March-5B launched the first module of China's new space station into Earth's orbit on April 29. Its 18-tonne main segment is now in freefall and experts have said it is difficult to say precisely where and when it will re-enter the atmosphere.

Re-entry is expected to be around 2300 GMT on Saturday, according to the Pentagon, with a window of nine hours either side.

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NASA's new chief big on climate, hedges on 2024 moon landing
In this Wednesday, April 21, 2021 file photo, former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, nominee for administrator of NASA, speaks during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
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On April 29, China launched the first module of its "Heavenly Palace" space station
On April 29, China launched the first module of its "Heavenly Palace" space station

China's rogue rocket is in an uncontrolled free-fall towards Earth and no one knows where or exactly when it will burn through Earth's atmosphere, but the risk of debris hitting an inhabited area remains very small, experts told AFP Friday.

What happened?

On April 29, China launched the first module of its "Heavenly Palace" , a milestone in Beijing's ambitious plan to establish a permanent human presence in space.

The module was propelled by a powerful Long March 5B , whose first stage is currently descending Earthward.

If Chinese ground engineers have no control over the booster stage's trajectory, it is not due to a technical failure or some unexplained glitch. The rocket was designed that way.

From a low Earth orbit, bodies are drawn gradually by gravity towards the surface of the planet.

Friday, 07 May 2021 12:13

Week in images: 03 - 07 May 2021

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Juice in transport container

Week in images: 03 - 07 May 2021

Discover our week through the lens

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Military experts in the US expect the body of the Chinese Long March 5B rocket to fall to the surface some time over the weekend
Military experts in the US expect the body of the Chinese Long March 5B rocket to fall to the surface some time over the weekend

China said Friday the risk of damage on Earth from a rocket which fell out of orbit after separating from Beijing's space station was "extremely low", after the United States warned it could crash down onto an inhabited area.

Military experts in the US expect the body of the Long March 5B rocket to fall to the surface some time around Saturday or Sunday, but warned it was difficult to predict where it will land and when.

But Beijing downplayed the risk of any damage on Friday.

"The probability of causing harm to aviation activities or (on people and activities) on the ground is extremely low," foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

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NASA Wallops May 8 rocket launch may be visible in eastern United States
KiNet-X Visibility Map. Credit: NASA A four-stage Black Brant XII sounding rocket. Credit: NASA

A mission to explore energy transport in space using a NASA suborbital sounding rocket launching May 8, 2021, from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia may provide a brief light show for residents of the eastern United States and Bermuda.

The is scheduled for no earlier than 8:02 p.m. EDT with a 40-minute launch window, Saturday, May 8. Backup launch days run through May 16. The launch may be visible, weather permitting, in much of the eastern United States from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River.

A four-stage Black Brant XII rocket will be used for the mission that includes the release of barium that will form two green-violet that may be visible for about 30 seconds. The barium vapor is not harmful to the environment or public health

The mission, called the KiNETic-scale energy and momentum transport eXperiment, or KiNet-X, is designed to study a very in space plasmas, namely, how are energy and momentum transported between different regions of space that are magnetically connected?

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Image: First Ariane 6 fairing at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana
Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace

Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana is carrying out combined tests to prepare for the arrival of Ariane 6, Europe's next generation heavy-lift launch vehicle.

The first Ariane 6 fairing has already arrived at the Spaceport from Europe. It is 20 m high and 5.4 m in diameter and is being integrated with a mockup payload to and procedures inside the assembly building.

Ruag Space in Emmen, Switzerland manufactures each entire large half-shell in one piece from carbon-fiber composite which is 'cured' in an industrial oven. This reduces cost and speeds up production. Fewer parts allow horizontal as well as vertical assembly of the closed fairing and the launch vehicle, which is particularly important for Ariane 6.

A blue metal scaffold on the right of the picture, called the 'strongback," encases the fairing. There is one for each half-shell to hold each steady and to maintain the shape of the fairing while it is being raised vertical, and during assembly.

The mockup payload stands on its payload adaptor—the black cone. This is the interface between the bottom of the payload and the rocket.

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A barred galaxy’s massive molecular inflow
The barred spiral galaxy NGC1300 as seen by Hubble.  Astronomers think that galactic bars help funnel material into the nuclear regions of galaxies where they help trigger star formation and feed the supermassive black hole.
Friday, 07 May 2021 12:13

Week in images: 03 - 07 April 2021

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Juice in transport container

Week in images: 03 - 07 April 2021

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