Part of Russian rocket fell and crashed into Earth near the Pacific Ocean
Part of a Russian rocket made an uncontrolled crash into Earth on Wednesday, landing just above the Pacific Ocean.
Where did the rocket land? Its location points to an empty patch of sea east of French Polynesia.
"Persei reentry confirmed: 2108 UTC over 121W 14S in the South [Pacific]," astronomer and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell, who's based at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said on Twitter.
The Persei was stranded during a test flight that launched on Dec. 27. After losing control, the rocket booster was to start up a second engine burn that would have sent the rocket to a higher equatorial orbit. However, the Persei failed to restart, Live Science reported.
Before liftoff, the rocket weight about 21.5 tons, and after losing fuel, it fell back to Earth weighing about 3.5 tons, according to Anatoly Zak.
McDowell told Live Science the majority of the rocket was burned in the Earth's atmosphere and assured there wasn't a concern of subsequent "smoking craters."
When asked if this rocket incident was reminiscent of the 2021 film "Don't Look Up," which documents two astronomers warning people that a comet is heading toward Earth, McDowell said no.
"Any damage from surviving debris will be minor (it might dent some poor person's roof, but it won't wipe out humanity)," McDowell said on Twitter.
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