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The wreckage of a rocket launched by China into space is now crashing to Earth. It is expected that our time will fall in the South Pacific by tomorrow (9th) morning, just in case, our Air Force is working with the United States to track the crash course.
This is Kim Tae-hoon, a reporter specializing in defense.
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Changjeong 5B, which China launched with modules loaded on the 29th of last month for the construction of a space station.
After completing the mission, it has been spinning around the Earth and is now falling into debris.
The weight of the rubble is 22.5 tons.
The ROK-US Air Force, which is sharing relevant information, predicts that debris will fall on the Earth's surface by tomorrow morning of our time.
The Ministry of Science, ICT and ICT also said that the rocket wreckage is expected to crash in the South Pacific at around 11:40 am tomorrow.
When the debris re-enters the atmosphere, the route is distorted and the air force is analyzing the route carefully without excluding the possibility of falling into our territory and territorial waters.
[Lloyd Austin/US Secretary of Defense: (US time) It will crash somewhere between 8th and 9th May. Experts are tracking it, but there are currently no plans to intercept Chinese rockets.]
Earlier, the US Space Command said it was unable to pinpoint the location of the wreckage crash until several hours before re-entry to the atmosphere.
China dismissed the possibility of damage, saying that the rocket body is of a special material and will burn out as soon as it enters the atmosphere.
He criticized the claim that rocket wreckage could fall to the ground as an exaggerated threat from Western countries.
(Video editing: Lee Seung-yeol)