Chinese upper stage disintegrates in orbit
A Chinese Long March 6 upper stage, launched in on November 11, 2022, has disintegrated into more than 350 in orbit and now pose a threat to other orbiting spacecraft.
The Long March 6A rocket launched from Taiyuan, north China, on Nov. 11, successfully inserting the Yunhai 3 environmental monitoring satellite into its intended orbit.
The upper stage of the rocket, however, apparently suffered a breakup event shortly thereafter. On Nov. 12, the U.S. Space Force’s 18th Space Defense Squadron (18SDS) reported that it was tracking at least 50 discrete pieces of orbital debris from the rocket body. Ongoing tracking from 18SDS, which focuses on space domain awareness, now states that the debris cloud has grown to 350 objects associated with the rocket stage.
Based on the data, it appears the break-up occurred because the stage had an explosive event. It could have been programed to fire its engine to quickly de-orbit it and something went wrong. Or not. The Chinese have not demonstrated much concern about such issues.
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A Chinese Long March 6 upper stage, launched in on November 11, 2022, has disintegrated into more than 350 in orbit and now pose a threat to other orbiting spacecraft.
The Long March 6A rocket launched from Taiyuan, north China, on Nov. 11, successfully inserting the Yunhai 3 environmental monitoring satellite into its intended orbit.
The upper stage of the rocket, however, apparently suffered a breakup event shortly thereafter. On Nov. 12, the U.S. Space Force’s 18th Space Defense Squadron (18SDS) reported that it was tracking at least 50 discrete pieces of orbital debris from the rocket body. Ongoing tracking from 18SDS, which focuses on space domain awareness, now states that the debris cloud has grown to 350 objects associated with the rocket stage.
Based on the data, it appears the break-up occurred because the stage had an explosive event. It could have been programed to fire its engine to quickly de-orbit it and something went wrong. Or not. The Chinese have not demonstrated much concern about such issues.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Why am I not surprised that this happened to a Chinese project?
Communism/socialism, and any thing it touches, eventually explodes/implodes. Just hope we don’t go full socialist before that happens.
I can not help but think that China did this on purpose.
A few weeks ago some fishermen found a Chinese upper stage floating in the ocean and the Chinese coast guard stole it back from them with force.
China could have purposefully blown this one up to stop anyone from discovering what exactly they are launching.
“China could have purposefully blown this one up to stop anyone from discovering what exactly they are launching.”
Astute observation. If a piece stays in orbit, it isn’t accessible, and if it doesn’t, it burns up. Problem solved.