Debris from Chinese rocket falls to earth
- Posted By
10Pointer
- Categories
Science & Technology
- Published
2nd Aug, 2022
-
Context
Debris from a rocket that boosted part of China’s new space station into orbit has fallen into the sea in the Philippines.
- As per the China's space agency, the Chinese rocket debris has crashed to Earth over the Sulu Sea - east of the Philippine Island of Palawan in the north Pacific.
Background
- In July 2022, China had launched the Long March 5B rocket which carried a lab module to the Tiangong station.
- This rocket was used to launch the second of three modules China needed to complete its new Tiangong space station.
- While fulfilling its objective in space, the booster rocket made an uncontrolled return.
About Chinese space station
- Tiangong is China's new space station.
- In May 2021, China launched Tianhe, the first of the orbiting space station's three modules.
- The country aims to finish building the station by the end of 2022.
- In June 2021, China had launched three astronauts into orbit to begin occupation of the country's new space station.
- Tiangong will be much smaller than the International Space Station (ISS), with only three modules compared with 16 modules on the ISS.
About International Space Station
- The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit.
- Its first component launched into orbit in 1998, and the ISS is now the largest human-made body in low Earth orbit.
- It circles the Earth in roughly 92 minutes and completes 15.5 orbits per day.
- The ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields.
- Five different space agencies representing 15 countries built the $100-billion International Space Station and continue to operate it today.
- The ISS programme is a joint project between five participating space agencies:
- NASA (United States)
- Roscosmos (Russia)
- JAXA (Japan)
- ESA (Europe)
- CSA (Canada)
- Its ownership and use has been established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements.
- It is expected to operate until 2030.
- NASA plans to decommission it in 2031.
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