Autor/es reacciones

Javier Gómez Elvira

Aeronautical engineer and former head of INTA's Department of Payloads and Space Sciences

China should give advance warning that such a large element may fall, rather than always having to detect it remotely, with space detection and observation radars. China should be more cooperative and when it has such a large piece of hardware falling to Earth, give plenty of warning. Even if it knows what the trajectory is, say so. 

It is common for elements of this kind to fall, but not this big. A few months ago there was another alarm about another piece of a Chinese rocket, but not as large.  

We are not 100% sure because they are elements that are uncontrolled. Once they do their job, they go into orbit, but as they have no propulsion system, they fall due to the effect of the atmosphere and their fall is not controllable. At some point they may fall in an inhabited area or at least on land, not in the sea, which is where they normally fall, over the ocean, and this does not cause any problems.

EN