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Chinese Space Station Begins Falling To Earth? Large Metal Objects Crashed In Myanmar May Belong To Tiangong-1

By Patrick Frye
Published on: 10:31 PST, Nov 11, 2016

Two large metallic objects crashed in northern Myanmar, causing panic among the rural residents. The Kachin state government hasn’t been able to identify the space debris, causing rumors to spread about the Chinese space station Tiangong-1 slowly shedding components that are crashing back to Earth.

Residents of a small jade mining region in northern Myanmar were shocked after two large and cylindrical objects crashed from the sky. While the locals believe the metallic objects might be space junk or a failed aircraft engine, some conspiracy theorists suggest the components might belong to a Chinese Long March 11 rocket that blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on Wednesday night. The rocket is believed to be delivering a secret and experimental satellite.

However, there are persistent rumors which claim the objects might belong to China’s first space station, Tiangong-1. The aging space station has been officially decommissioned. Chinese officials had recently acknowledged that the space station was officially spiraling out of control and will eventually crash into the earth sometime next year. Now, some experts claim the objects that landed in Myanmar could very well belong to the failed space station.

One of the metallic objects was about 4.5 meters (15 feet) long and 1.2 meters (4 feet) wide. It crashed in an abandoned jade mine in Kachin state. Incidentally, at the same time, another slightly smaller object crashed through the roof of a nearby house, reported the Telegraph. The second piece had Chinese writings on it. Needless to add, the objects caused panic. Fortunately, there were no casualties from the falling space debris.

Locals claim the larger of the metallic objects bounced as high as 150 feet (46 meters), before landing in a muddy area of the abandoned jade mine. Interestingly, the local Defense Service corroborated the version, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper, but added that it “could not be confirmed whether the launch of the [Chinese] satellite and the metal objects found in Kachin State were related.” Local villagers described the incident as an artillery attack.

The metallic objects crashed early in the morning at approximately 6 a.m., noted villager Ko Maung Myo, reported Myanmar Times.

“Initially, we thought it was a battle. Every local thought it was the explosion of heavy artillery. The explosion made our houses shake. We saw the smoke from our village. I walked over to it and saw it was part of an engine.”

Myo insists the metallic object was part of an engine because he found “a diode and many copper wires at the tail of the body,” adding that “It also looks like a jet engine block,” reported Gizmodo. Local witnesses claimed the air smelled acrid, indicating something was still smoldering inside the space debris.

The local authorities took charge of the situation, and attempted to identify the origin of the metallic objects. However, apart from the indecipherable Chinese lettering, there were no indicators about their true origin. Initial speculations claimed the space debris might belong to a satellite, a piece of missile, or an aircraft engine. However, none of the authorities have so far confirmed anything. Experts on social media claimed the space debris was most likely a stage section of a rocket, which falls away before reaching space, reported South China Morning Post.

A few photos of the debris were shared on social media platforms, and they do seem to imply the long metallic object might be a part of the boosters that are strapped onto the rockets to help them escape the gravitational force of the Earth. Once the rocket reaches sufficient altitude, these segments separate. While these single-use boosters are supposed to land in a large water body like the oceans, it is quite likely one of the sections landed on the ground.

[Featured Image by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]

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