After the November 12 crash, the remains of China’s Changzheng-6A rocket, which successfully launched the Yunhai-3 environmental monitoring satellite, turned into a cloud of space debris consisting of about 350 pieces.

The incident occurred shortly after the successful completion of the mission – its probable cause was a malfunction of the upper stage. It received publicity after the 18th Space Defense Squadron of the US Space Forces reported: On November 12, the unit conveyed information about the discovery of 50 fragments of the rocket body, which had become space debris. Meanwhile, American experts stated that the rocket remains are now forming a huge cloud of 350 pieces.

Citing Space.com astrophysicist and satellite expert Jonathan McDowell (Jonathan McDowell), the nature of the debris distribution suggests that the event is not related to the spontaneous destruction of structural elements, but to a failure in the fuel supply system. According to him, it may be a malfunction of the fuel drain system and subsequent ignition of its remnants, but the specialist emphasized that the cause of the accident remains unclear.

On November 14, a representative from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to a New York Times reporter’s question about the incident, said: “The events will not affect the Chinese space station or the ISS” and prompted other questions “authorized institutions”. Most of the Changzheng-6A debris is at an altitude of between 800 and 1,000 km – the altitude of the ISS orbit is about 420 km and slightly lower near the Chinese space station Tiangong.