The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) confirmed that debris of the 20-ton Chinese launch rocket Long March 5B (CZ5B) had been spotted in the southern Sumatra airspace during re-entry into the atmosphere.
“It is observed that debris from the rocket, on its final trajectory, streaked the (skies of the) southern part of Sumatra and West Kalimantan,” BRIN senior researcher Thomas Djamaludin noted in a written statement on Sunday.
The researcher said that debris from the rocket crashed into the Indian Ocean on Saturday (July 30) at 11:45 p.m. Western Indonesian Time (UTC +7), and orbit data collected from the space-track.org website revealed that the crash area was located southwest of Indonesia.
“Perhaps, the debris shattered on its final trajectory, as the orbit crossed the southern part of Sumatra,” Djamaludin noted.
The rocket debris does not pose harmful effects to the marine biota, he stated.
The BRIN researcher encouraged residents, in areas below the orbit of the rocket debris, who spotted objects falling from the sky at approximately 11:45 p.m. Western Indonesian Time (UTC +7), to report to BRIN’s Space Research Centre through the prantariksa@brin.go.id e-mail.
Meanwhile, BRIN’s Space Research Centre Head, Emanuel Sungging Mumpuni, stated that according to the agency’s Space Falling Object Research team, the rocket debris would fall south of the Philippines and be visible at a 10-kilometre altitude over Sarawak, Malaysia.
The Lampung ITERA Astronomical Observatory (OAIL) has also been successful in capturing the fall of the space debris, he added.
Moreover, the Malaysian Space Agency’s (MYSA’s) written statement on Sunday (July 31) also confirmed about the rocket debris being visible in Malaysia. The rocket debris burned up during re-entry into the atmosphere and entered the Malaysian airspace.
The occurrence has become viral, with videos capturing the moment when the debris streaked across the skies being widely circulated on social media.
Source: Antara News