On Friday, August 9th, analysts stated that this week a rocket launched by the Chinese Communist Party disintegrated in space, generating over 700 fragments, putting more than 1,000 satellites and other objects in the high traffic area of Earth’s orbit at risk of potential collisions.
On Tuesday, China’s state-owned Shanghai Space Satellite Technology Company (SSST) launched the Long March 6A rocket, deploying 18 internet satellites into orbit as part of China’s “Thousand Sail Broadband Network” first batch of satellites.
Shortly after deploying the satellites into orbit, the upper stage rocket exploded, creating an increasing field of debris. The U.S. Space Command (USSPACECOM) stated that the disintegration of the upper stage rocket resulted in a cloud of debris racing around Earth.
The USSPACECOM released a statement on Thursday confirming that the Long March 6A rocket launched on August 6, 2024 disintegrated, causing over 300 trackable debris in near-Earth orbit.
“Trackable debris” typically refers to any object with a diameter of at least 4 inches (10 centimeters). The newly formed debris cloud also includes many smaller fragments that are too small to be monitored.
According to a report by Reuters on August 9th, the space tracking company LeoLabs mentioned that the number of fragments could exceed 900, making this event one of the largest space debris incidents in history. Several analysts suggested that the debris cloud formed at an altitude of approximately 800 kilometers (497 miles) could persist for several years.
It is still unclear whether the disintegration of the latest Chinese rocket was due to a collision with other objects or an explosion of unused fuel onboard the rocket.
Audrey Schaffer, Vice President of Strategy at Slingshot Aerospace, told Reuters on Thursday that over 1,100 satellites and other space objects are at risk of colliding with the debris from the Chinese rocket.
“What we’re seeing now is over 1,100 potential collisions in the next three days, with distances less than 5 kilometers,” Schaffer said. She added that about a third of the at-risk objects are active spacecraft, which are likely to be able to maneuver away from the debris.
Schaffer mentioned that the remaining objects are uncontrollable fragments within existing space debris, unable to evade new debris, causing concerns among many analysts about cascading collisions.
Schaffer also told space.com that if even a small portion of the debris generated by the Chinese “Thousand Sail Broadband Network” launch is as significant as the initial launch on Tuesday, the reduction of low-earth orbit space debris would not be sustainable.
In 2022, the Chinese Long March 6A rocket similarly disintegrated in space. According to the March 2023 edition of NASA’s “Orbital Debris Quarterly News,” by January 2023, the event had generated 533 trackable debris.
This incident has prompted criticism from Western countries and advocates for sustainable space development towards China’s actions. They argue that Beijing should take responsibility for how it handles leftover rocket bodies.
“Frankly, it’s disappointing to see the same issue with the rocket arising again,” Schaffer told Reuters. “This debris-generating incident was avoidable and shouldn’t have happened again.”
On November 4, 2022, debris from the Chinese “Long March 5B” rocket fell to Earth in an uncontrolled manner, with Western societies viewing this as another irresponsible move by the China National Space Administration. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson issued a highly critical statement regarding the event.
Nelson urged China to take more responsible actions in the future. “It is crucial that all spacefaring nations conduct their space activities responsibly and transparently, following established best practices,” he stated.
He further emphasized that uncontrolled re-entry of large rocket debris into the atmosphere “could pose significant damage or loss of life.”