CZ-3B rocket body re-entry recorded over Paraguay
Image credit: CZ-3B re-entry over Paraguay on March 10, 2018.
The body of Chinese Long March 3B rocket, also known as CZ-3B, launched December 10, 2017, re-entered Earth's atmosphere around 05:52 UTC on March 10 over Paraguay, creating a spectacular show.
The American Meteor Society (AMS) received just one witness report via its partner Exoss and archived it as AMS event #960-2018. However, the event was observed and recorded by many people. See videos below:
This object has International Designation 2017-078B and NORAD Number 43040. The rocked launched Alcomsat 1 on December 10, 2017 from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China.
According to Professor Blas Antonio Servín Bernal, a small fuel tank was found in the city of Canindeyú, Paraguay, on the border with Brazil, between Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul.
A similar re-entry event took place at 23:32 UTC on January 27, 2018 over Pucallpa, Peru. Several fuel tanks were recovered by the Peruvian Air Force near the Puno region of Peru after they were notified by local residents. This was re-entry of Russian SL-23 rocked body (international designation 2017-086D).
Exoss team later surveyed information about the event and found the following piece of the rocket in Puno region of northern Peru.
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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