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Pentagon Tracking Out-of-Control Chinese Rocket Set to Crash Down to Earth

Experts say accurately predicting where the rocket will land is impossible, but it’s likely to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere sometime this weekend.

The Pentagon announced Tuesday that it is monitoring a large Chinese rocket that is out of control, and no one is quite sure where or when it will land. The rocket was initially sent up last month to help launch China’s Tianhe, a section of the country’s new space station, into orbit. A Department of Defense spokesperson said he expects the falling rocket to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere “around May 8th.” An exact location is impossible to predict, but experts say it’s likely to end up splashing down in the water as opposed to on dry land because of the sheer mass of the planet’s oceans. According to Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, “the practice of countries around the world has been: ‘Yeah, for bigger rockets, let’s not leave our trash in orbit,’” making it a bit rude of China to leave behind this piece of space litter. However, the risk of someone being hit by the failing rocket is “pretty tiny,” McDowell told CNN. “This is not the end of days.”