China's space agency has said that most remains of the Long March 5 burnt in the atmosphere, identifying the Sulu Sea in the Pacific as the re-entry location.
The announcement did not detail whether the remains of the rocket fell on land or sea but it identified the “landing area” as 119 degrees east longitude and 9.1 degrees north latitude, which equates to waters south-east of the Philippine city of Puerto Princesa, on the island of Palawan.
The Long March 5B rocket was launched on Sunday, carrying Wentian (‘Quest for the Heavens’), the second of three modules that will make up China's new Tiangong space station, where three astronauts are currently living. The 23-tonne lab module will be used for scientific experiments and it is the heaviest single-module spacecraft currently in space, according to the state-owned Global Times.
Philippine authorities did not immediately confirm whether anyone on the ground was affected, but last week, a study...