According to the report, on September 1 around noon time a young farmer by the last name Li was working on a hill slope in the Xiangzhen Cultural Village, in the Wuxi District near Chongqing, when a very loud bang startled him. Li then saw a large white object rolling down the hill.

The shakened farmer ran towards the scene to see what the object was. Upon arrival he saw a dented and cracked white metallic cylindrical object about 12 m long, 2.5 m in diameter and weighed about 1,000 kg. Letters painted on the damaged surface of the object were visible. Li also saw a large crater where the cylindrical object hit the ground.

After inspecting and trying to figure out what the object was for a long time, Li decided to report the incident to local government officials. A team of officials immediately went to the scene, secured the area and started an investigation.

The mystery object puzzled local residents for two days before they learned about its identity. The object turned out to be part of the CZ-4B launcher which lifted off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launching Center (TSLC) in the northern Shanxi Province on September 1 at 11:25 a.m. Beijing Time. The large debris from the rocket landed more than 700 km downrange in the village less than an hour after the launch. The newspaper did not say which part of the launcher the debris belonged to.

Ironically when the international space community is keeping a close watch on the upper stage of CZ-4B, which has a history of on-orbit breakup, a piece of its lower stage makes an impact in a residential area. Luckily there was no damage to any person or structure on the ground. Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express