After achieving the remarkable feat of launching 18 Qianfan satellites, China’s Long March 6A rocket broke up on Aug. 6, producing nearly 300 pieces of trackable debris in low Earth orbit.
The first wave of these satellites were supposed to form China’s “own version of Elon Musk’s Starlink”, called the Qianfan (“Thousand Cells”) broadband network. The rocket was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, located in northern China’s Shanxi province.
a report The Wall Street Journal The rocket’s breakdown has raised fresh concerns about Beijing’s attitude toward space debris, the report said.
Also Read | China rocket breaks down into 300 pieces of space junk after satellite constellation launch
The report quoted US space-tracking firm LeoLabs as saying the incident could send up at least 700 fragments floating about 500 miles above Earth, making it one of the largest rocket fragmentation events in history. Starlink said the debris posed no immediate threat to its fleet, but “fragments are likely to remain in space for decades due to the high altitude of the event.”
#USSpaceCom Statement on the breakdown of the Chinese Long March 6A rocket: pic.twitter.com/Kf5cz0iZky
— US Space Command (@US_SpaceCom) August 8, 2024
China and other countries are pressing ahead with plans to increase rocket launches, raising the risk to humans and satellites in orbit. Yet there is little global oversight over unsustainable practices.
“Who can implement anything in space? It’s like the Wild West sometimes,” said Quentin Parker, director of the Space Research Laboratory at the University of Hong Kong WSJ.
Darren McKnight, a senior technical fellow at LeoLabs, said China’s recent record in generating debris related to Long March 6 launches is worrying. “I hope this is a warning to them and they become part of the international dialogue,” he said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said last week that China “attaches great importance to space debris mitigation” and has “made active efforts to fulfill relevant international obligations.” Without giving details, he said China had taken necessary measures following the recent rocket breakup.
The report also said that China’s activities in space point to a worrying trend towards space junk. In 2022, a Chinese rocket stage reentered uncontrolledly in the Sulu Sea, with NASA criticising it for inadequate data provision. Large pieces of junk have been created by Chinese rocket launches, including the Long March 6A missions, which are notorious for their poor history. While other countries fared better, Chinese behaviour was largely responsible for the space debris that impacts the low-Earth orbit environment.