A Chinese rocket launched into space last June to deliver military surveillance satellites reportedly disintegrated over Texas Wednesday.
Here’s the rocket launch last June:
[🔴China’s 21st launch in 2022] At UTC 02:22 June 23, 3 Yaogan(遥感/RemoteSensing)-35-02 satellites were successfully launched by #CZ2D Y64 rocket in Xichang, Sichuan. This is the 424th launch of Long March rocket family. HD: https://t.co/018SGyq48M pic.twitter.com/0kDtkg7hua
— CNSA Watcher (@CNSAWatcher) June 23, 2022
USNI News reported that the rocket’s debris landed in Texas.
The 8,000-pound Chang Zheng 2D ‘Long March’ rocket reportedly caused debris “miles wide and several hundred miles long.”
The Pentagon might want to check with their overseers in Beijing before sending off a strongly-worded letter of mild protest to the CCP: #TheGreatAmericaShow
UPDATED: Chinese Rocket that Delivered Military Spy Satellites Breaks Up Over Texas https://t.co/LXjPCGi7vj— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) March 10, 2023
SHOCK: A Chinese ICBM delivering a spy satellite to orbit has just broken up over Texas without any reaction from Biden. Does the White House expect @GovAbbott or @tedcruz to respond or will the president start doing his job? Who does Biden work for?https://t.co/hRIvCGeYTa
— @amuse (@amuse) March 9, 2023
USNI News wrote:
The second stage of a Chinese rocket that delivered a trio of military surveillance satellites in June disintegrated over Texas on Wednesday, USNI News has learned.
The four-ton component of a Chang Zheng 2D ‘Long March’ rocket punched through the atmosphere on Wednesday over Texas at 17,000 miles per hour and disintegrated, two defense officials confirmed to USNI News on Thursday.
Military officials have yet to find any debris from the rocket stage, however USNI News understands the debris field could be miles wide and several hundred miles long.
According to NORAD satellite tracking data, the stage was a piece of space junk in low earth orbit before it made its unscheduled descent.
“U.S. Space Command can confirm the People’s Republic of China CZ-2D Rocket Body, SCC# 52910, reentered the Earth’s atmosphere over the southern region of North America at approximately 8:30 pm [Mountain Time] on March 7, 2023,” reads a statement from SPACECOM following an earlier version of this post.
“This was an uncontrolled reentry, meaning it was not steered but rather its orbit decayed and lowered naturally. This type of behavior reinforces the need for better international norms regarding high-risk uncontrolled reentries.”
Based on the NORAD tracking data, the stage belonged to a mission that delivered three military electronic signals surveillance satellites that were believed to be targeted over the South China Sea, astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics told USNI News Thursday.
According to the track, the rocket section entered the atmosphere over West Texas near Marathon before heading on a northeast track between Abilene and Austin.
The debris field is over the least populated counties in the state, according to the Texas Demographic Center.
Chinese officials have not acknowledged the unplanned reentry as of this posting.
U.S. officials are still determining if any debris has hit the ground. China has been criticized for space debris entering the atmosphere unpredictably causing a hazard to population centers.
Will the Biden administration publicly address this dangerous reentry over the United States?
Probably not!
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!