The video shows villagers running as large chunks of Chinese missiles fall from the sky

“Extremely toxic and carcinogenic”.

Reckless risk

Images and an eerie video circulating on social media show what appears to be debris from a Chinese missile falling on a village in southwest China, resulting in a massive cloud of disturbing yellow smoke.

A video shows distraught villagers fleeing a giant piece of rocket falling from the sky, leaving a bright orange trail of smoke in its wake in the distance.

The footage was shared not long after a Long March 2C rocket was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the country’s Sichuan province, sending a satellite into orbit.

It is far from the first time we have seen debris from such a launch making an uncontrolled descent over populated areas. In January, for example, a pair of rocket boosters of a Chinese Long March 3B missile crashed into a wooded, residential area, exploding in massive fireballs.

The phenomenon has led to outrage from the international space community, with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson releasing a statement in 2021 accusing China of “failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris.” .

Worse yet, how CNN Local residents were reportedly “strictly prohibited” from “disseminating relevant videos on the Internet” in an announcement, suggesting officials are trying to downplay the very real dangers of the chaotic and fast-paced space program.

Rain rockets

It is unclear if anyone was injured in the latest incident. eyewitnesses said CNN that “there was a strong wind and a noise of explosion”. Local villagers were also told to spread out and watch the open sky before departure to make sure they wouldn’t get hurt.

The yellow and orange smoke billowing from the missile debris is “extremely toxic and carcinogenic,” said Stockholm International Peace Research Institute senior researcher Markus Schiller. CNN. “Any living thing that ingests that stuff is going to have a hard time in the near future.”

Instead of launching their rockets from inland like China, NASA and the European Space Agency launch their rockets from shore, where rocket parts have a much higher chance of landing harmlessly in the ocean.

SpaceX has also developed reusable rocket boosters that return to the launch pad, bypassing these risks almost entirely.

Meanwhile, China has repeatedly made headlines for allowing its missiles to fall on populated areas, a significant liability and embarrassment for its ambitious space program.

It’s a callous approach to sending cargo into orbit, especially considering the many ways such risks can be avoided.

“I expect we’ll see something like this for a long time, for many years to come,” Schiller said CNN.

More on China’s missiles: Videos show parts of Chinese missiles raining down, exploding