The Chinese Rullet

[coksiw]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese...d=hp_lead_pos9

The Long March 5B, which was launched on April 29, ferried the first piece of China’s new space station into orbit. Typically, the boosters that propel rockets fall back to Earth in a predicted area. The Chinese rocket booster reached the upper limits of the atmosphere and began circling in orbit. Gravity has slowly been dragging it down since and once it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere, it should fall toward the planet’s surface, according to the Aerospace Corporation, a nonprofit federally funded space research center.

The core booster stage is currently circling Earth at about 17,000 miles an hour, or about one revolution around the planet every 90 minutes. The part falling back to Earth is estimated to be about 16 feet in diameter, 100 feet tall, and weigh 20 tons, according to orbit.ing-now, a website tracking the re-entry. Debris re-entry could happen as far north as Chicago, New York City, Rome or Beijing, or as far south as New Zealand or Chile, according to the Aerospace Corporation.

100 feet tall, and weigh 20 tons

The one that fell on Russia in 2013 was estimated to be 11,000 tons. It may not be a big deal after all.