[UPDATED] Chinese Long March 5B rocket debris sparks fiery re-entry off Sarawak’s coasts

KUALA LUMPUR – Residents throughout parts of Sarawak were treated to a scene akin to Hollywood movies when debris believed to have originated from the Chinese rocket Long March 5B were seen crashing down during its atmospheric re-entry, in the wee hours this morning.

meteor spotted in kuching! #jalanbako 31/7/2022 pic.twitter.com/ff8b2zI2sw

— Nazri sulaiman (@nazriacai) July 30, 2022

According to Twitter user @nazriacai, he had tweeted “Meteor spotted in Kuching! #jalanbako 31/7/2022” before reiterating that it was indeed from a rocket.

Another user, @hanifDaslepzz, tweeted: “Kuching Sarawak.. meteor or what?”

Kuching Sarawak.. meteor or apa pic.twitter.com/HJzN1zbOJ6

— hanifDaslepzz ➐ (@hanifDaslepzz) July 30, 2022

In his subsequent tweets, @hanifDaslepzz stated: “Chinese rocket debris fell in Sarawak from the southwest in an ascending orbital node. The YouTube site that reported this live asked Sarawakians who came across this waste to stay away from it for the sake of health because it has radioactive radiation with it.”

He also tweeted that a loud explosion was heard when the burning metal body penetrated the dense wet atmosphere and speculated that the debris is believed to have fallen in the regional strip between Bekenu-Miri-Brunei-Limbang-Lawas-Beaufort and the southern part of Sabah’s west coast.

Nasa administrator Bill Nelson in a statement yesterday said that China did not disclose “specific trajectory information” as the rocket descended to Earth.

He added that all countries should do so in advance “to allow reliable predictions of potential debris impact risk” particularly for heavy-lift vehicles like the Long March 5B “which carry a significant risk of loss of life and property”.

Meanwhile, in a statement following the incident, the Malaysian Space Agency (MYSA) confirmed that the atmospheric re-entry of the debris originating from China’s Long March 5B rocket occurred at 1am, today.

MYSA, through its continuous monitoring with the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry and the statement from China Space Agency, confirmed that the rocket debris had ignited during atmospheric re-entry when the movement of the burning debris crossed into Malaysian airspace, including Sarawak’s airspace. 

“The rocket debris was recorded to have landed along the Sulu Sea between latitude 9.1 North and longitude 119 East today,” the agency stated.

According to various reports, the Long March 5B rocket took off on July 24. Its mission was to deliver a laboratory module to the new Chinese space station under construction in orbit.

The latest launch marked the third flight of China’s most powerful rocket since its maiden launch in 2020. – The Vibes, July 31, 2022