Share and Follow
The Long March 5B rocket is about the size of a ten-storey building and weighs about 22.5 tons, the Aerospace Corporation said.
It was launched on October 31 last year, carrying Chinese space station Mengtian.
“The uncertainty of where the large debris will ultimately land presents a level of risk to human safety and property damage that is well above commonly accepted thresholds,” the corporation said in a statement.
“Over 88 per cent of the world’s population lives under the reentry’s potential debris footprint.”
Australia is among those countries that could potentially be hit.
Read Related Also: Millions under threat from volatile low pressure system sweeps east coast
The corporation – which is a US-funded not-for-profit research centre based in California – said the rocket was too large to burn up in the atmosphere.
Combined with its uncontrolled re-entry, it presented enough risk that “precautionary preparation” around the world was justified.
China has been criticised before over the uncontrolled re-entry of its rockets, but has rejected the claims of danger as baseless.
Last year, a 21-tonne Chinese rocket landed in the Indian Ocean after an uncontrolled re-entry
Two bright blue blobs captured floating above south-east Asia
