HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM

Chinese Rocket Broke Up Over Texas in ‘Uncontrolled Reentry’

It’s not yet clear if any wreckage of the Long March rocket hit the ground.

Part of a Chinese rocket broke up over Texas on Wednesday after falling back to Earth in a “high-risk” uncontrolled reentry, according to U.S. Space Command. The second stage of a Long March rocket hurtled back into the atmosphere at over 17,000 mph after delivering three military spy satellites into orbit in June, USNI News reports. Military officials have not yet found any wreckage from the four-ton spacecraft, though the potential debris field could be hundreds of miles long and several miles wide. Confirming the rocket’s disintegration over America, U.S. Space Command said in a statement: “This was an uncontrolled reentry, meaning it was not steered but rather its orbit decayed and lowered naturally. This type of behavior reinforces the need for better international norms regarding high-risk uncontrolled reentries.”