Chinese Rocket Breaks Up After Satellite Launch, Tumbling Fast

A Chinese rocket that sent the Yunhai 3 satellite into orbit broke up at least 500 kilometres above the surface of the Earth, creating 50 new pieces of space junk that have spread like a cloud. According to a report in Forbes, the rocket lifted off on Saturday, November 12, but the mission did not go according to the plan. The rocket's upper stage, after releasing the satellite, suffered a break-up event, adding to the threat of space debris in low-Earth orbit.

This comes weeks after 23-tonne debris of a massive Chinese rocket hit the Earth after uncontrolled re-entry. The piece was part of the Long March 5B rocket that launched the third and final module of China's new Tiangong space station. The rocket that exploded on Saturday was the Long March 6A.

The United States Space Force's 18th Space Defense Squadron announced the break-up on Twitter on Sunday. The SDS said that it is "incorporating (the incident) into routine conjunction assessment to support spaceflight safety".

#18SDS confirmed breakup assoc w/ CZ-6A R/B (#54236, 2022-151B) - likely occurred Nov 12 @~0525 UTC. Tracking 50+ associated pieces @ est. 500-700km altitude & incorporating into routine conjunction assessment to support spaceflight safety. @ussfspoc @US_SpaceCom @SpaceTrackOrg

— 18th Space Defense Squadron (@18thSDS) November 13, 2022

"It appears the rocket body failed shortly after releasing the Yunhai-3 payload, as observations from 2 consecutive passes over the US in the hours after launch show fuel leaking from the rocket," tweeted astronaut Cees Bassa, who spotted dozens of pieces.

This evening I observed 43(!!) pieces of debris of the CZ-6A rocket that broke up in space after being launched 2 days ago. All pieces were tumbling fast, giving very distinct flash patterns. @18thSDS will have a challenge tracking and determining orbits for all these. pic.twitter.com/HJCcwsyn1i

— Cees Bassa (@cgbassa) November 13, 2022

Officially, there is no confirmation about the reason for the breaking-up of the rocket.

"All pieces were tumbling fast, giving very distinct flash patterns," he said in another tweet in the thread.

For now, there is no immediate threat. As per the Forbes report, the pieces of the rocket are likely to burn up while being pulled back to Earth's atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Yunhai 3 was successfully deployed and is expected to be unaffected by the explosion, the outlet further said.