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Tumbling Chinese Rocket Expected to Re-Enter Atmosphere May 8

Long March 5B rocket carried Chinese space station to orbit
Pentagon Secretary Austin being briefed regularly on rocket

People watch a Long March 5B rocket, carrying China’s Tianhe space station core module, as it lifts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China’s Hainan province on April 29.Source: AFP/Getty Images

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By Travis J Tritten

May 5, 2021 at 9:02 PM UTC

Updated on

May 6, 2021 at 8:52 AM UTC

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The Pentagon said it expects a tumbling Chinese rocket to fall out of orbit and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere on Saturday, though officials say it’s too early to predict where any debris will land.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is being briefed regularly about the trajectory of the Long March 5B rocket core, which successfully put a portion of China’s first space station into orbit last month, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Wednesday. Yet while the rocket is being monitored by U.S. Space Command, Kirby said there’s little the military can do about it at this point.