Uncontrolled Chinese rocket set to fall over Europe
Photo: the mass of the rocket debris expected to fall over Europe is 11 tonnes (screenshot)
Europe is expected to face an uncontrolled atmospheric re-entry of the second stage of the Chinese ZQ-3 R/B space rocket, weighing about 11 tonnes, on Jan. 30, posing a potential risk to aviation, according to the press service of the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
The institute is tracking the uncontrolled descent of the rocket together with the European Union’s Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) network.
According to preliminary estimates, the rocket’s second stage is expected to re-enter the atmosphere on January 30 at around 10:40 AM Kyiv time, though the estimated window could shift by up to about ten hours due to the object’s instability.
Rocket fragments could enter the atmosphere over southern parts of Denmark and the Baltic states, potentially affecting air traffic in the region.
ZQ-3 R/B is an unusually large piece of space debris: its mass is estimated at about 11 tonnes and its length at roughly 12–13 meters. The rocket stage was placed into orbit on December 3, 2025.
This is not the first time a Chinese space rocket has gone out of control. Previously, there were warnings about the potential fall of a Long March-5B rocket, which ultimately crashed into the ocean without causing damage.
The Chinese reusable Zhuque-3 rocket made an emergency landing after launch, highlighting that China is lagging behind SpaceX in the space race.
