People are running in panic: in China, part of a space rocket fell near a residential area
Part of the launch vehicle that launched the Chinese-French spacecraft into orbit fell to the ground.
One of the parts of the Chinese Changzheng-2C launch vehicle, which sent the Sino-French SVOM spacecraft into orbit, fell and exploded near a residential area in China. This incident occurred shortly after the launch of a rocket from the Sichan Cosmodrome. It is reported that the device, despite this disaster, successfully reached its destination.
The Changzheng-2C launch vehicle successfully launched from the Chinese Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province on Saturday, June 22. Its goal was to launch the SVOM spacecraft, created by scientists from China and France, into low-Earth orbit.
Shortly after launch into space, the booster rocket fell back and exploded. All this happened near a populated area, as shown in videos that circulated on the Internet. The footage shows that people who noticed the fall of part of the rocket are running in panic to escape.
It is known that the Chinese rocket uses substances that are very dangerous to human health as fuel. Some social media users expressed concern about the possible negative impact of toxic substances on local residents.
Despite the incident, China's National Space Administration said the mission was a success. That is, the 930-kilogram SVOM vehicle was successfully launched into the specified orbit.
It is known that this device is equipped with four scientific instruments for studying some of the most powerful energy emissions in the Universe - gamma-ray bursts. They are believed to occur during supernova explosions or collisions of neutron stars. Moreover, in just a few seconds, a gamma-ray burst releases more energy than the Sun does in 10 billion years.
Two SVOM instruments were created by scientists from France, and two by scientists from China. The spacecraft is the first joint development of the two countries.
