The re-entry of part of a Chinese rocket into the atmosphere has been spotted in the skies over the Algarve. These images were recorded by some SIC viewers, around midnight.
Initially, on social media, the suspicion was that it was a meteor shower. But it was space junk. The material was part of the rocket that took three Chinese astronauts to the Shenzhou space station two weeks ago.
Chinese astronauts entered the Tianzhou-4 module on June 6. The three astronauts, Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe, will complete construction of the Tiangong (“Heavenly Palace” in Chinese) space station over the next six months.
Their predecessors, Zhai Zhigang, Ye Guangfu and Wang Yaping, completed 183 days inside the station a few weeks ago, setting a new record for staying in space for Chinese astronauts.
During the stay of the new crew, China will launch the Mengtian and Wentian laboratory modules, bound for Tiangong.
The future three crew of the Shenzhou-15 is expected to coincide on the station with those of the current Shenzhou-14 mission for about a week, Chinese media reported.
The coexistence of the six astronauts on the station will be a record in the history of Chinese manned missions.
The Tiangong space station will weigh about 70 tons and will operate for about 15 years, orbiting about 400 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
