Second Stage Of China's Long March 5B Rocket May Enter Atmosphere On Sunday - Roscosmos

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th May, 2021) The second stage of China's Long March 5B heavy-lift launch vehicle is likely to enter the Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, Russia's Roscosmos space agency said.

The vehicle launched on April 29 from the Wenchang rocket launch site in China, carrying on board the Tianhe base module of Tiangong, the future orbital station.

"The object is steadily losing orbit altitude: during another day of the launch vehicle stage observation, its apogee decreased by another 18 km [over 11 miles] to 267 km, and the perigee - by 3 km to 156 km. According to calculations, as of May 7, 2021, the object can enter the Earth's atmosphere on May 9 over the Pacific Ocean," the agency said in a statement on Friday.

It specified that some of the object structures are expected to burn up in the dense layers of the atmosphere, but some non-combustible structural elements were likely to reach the Earth's surface.

China expects to finish assembling its first space station in lower Earth orbit by 2022. The country has planned several missions, both cargo and manned, throughout 2021 and 2022 to complete the complex, and plans to launch the space station officially in 2023.