Disintegrated space rocket 'highly unlikely' to cause any damage on earth: China
Beijing: Breaking its silence on its tumbling space rocket, whose debris is expected to fall on the Earth this weekend, China said most of it would be burnt during the re-entry and it is highly unlikely to cause any damage on the ground.
Replying to questions about the Long March 5B rocket, which last week launched the core module of the country's space station and started hurtling down to Earth, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here on Friday that China will provide timely updates on it.
The Pentagon said on Tuesday that it was tracking a large Chinese rocket that is out of control and set to re-enter Earth's atmosphere this weekend.
Wang said part of the rocket will be burnt and contracted when it enters the atmosphere.
It is an international practice. On April 29 long march 5B has successfully entered the expected orbit and we are also paying high attention to the re-entry of the rocket.
As we understand the rocket has adopted some special technical designing. Most of the part of the rocket will be burnt during its re-entry into the atmosphere. It is highly unlikely to cause any danger and harm to the aero activities or the Earth. The relevant competent authority will give an update in due course, he said.
Asked whether China knows where the debris is likely to fall and the concerned countries have been alerted to take preventive measures, Wang reiterated that the competent authority on the Chinese side will give updates in due course and in a timely manner.
Official media here quoted Chinese experts as saying that the parts of the disintegrated rocket will fall in international waters.
The rocket was used by China to launch part of its space station. While most space debris objects may burn up in the atmosphere, the rocket's size - 22 tonnes - has prompted concern that large parts could re-enter and cause damage if they hit inhabited areas.
State-run Global Times on Thursday quoted Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, as saying that the development of rocket debris falling was carefully considered by China's space authorities from the initial rocket design phase and the choice of a launch site, to the rocket's lift-off attitude and its trajectory.
"Most of the debris will burn up during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, leaving only a very small portion that may fall to the ground, which will potentially land on areas away from human activities or in the ocean," Wang told the daily.
On May 4, the US Defence Department said it was tracking a large Chinese rocket that is out of control and set to re-enter Earth's atmosphere this weekend, CNN reported.
The Chinese Long March 5B rocket is expected to enter earth's atmosphere around May 8, the report quoted a statement from Defence Department spokesperson Mike Howard, who said the US Space Command is tracking the rocket's trajectory.
The rocket's "exact entry point into the earth's atmosphere" can't be pinpointed until within hours of re-entry, Howard said, but the 18th Space Control Squadron will provide daily updates on the rocket's location through the Space Track website.
"I don't think people should take precautions. The risk that there will be some damage or that it would hit someone is pretty small - not negligible, it could happen - but the risk that it will hit you is incredibly tiny. And so I would not lose one second of sleep over this on a personal threat basis," Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Astrophysics Centre at Harvard University said.
Last year, the re-entry of debris from the first Long March 5B flight fell on the Ivory Coast, damaging several homes in villages. It was the largest craft to crash to earth since the US space laboratory, Skylab scattered debris over the southern Australian town of Esperance in 1979.
China is expected to carry out more launches in its space station programme in the coming weeks as it aims to complete the space station project next year.
Once finished, the structure will have a mass of about 100 tonnes, about a quarter of the size of the International Space Station, (ISS), which is 15 years old and expected to be decommissioned in the coming years.
After that, the Tiangong is expected to be the only space station operating in near-earth orbit by the end of the decade.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Zohran Mamdani sworn in as New York City mayor at historic subway station
New York (AP): Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City just after midnight on Thursday, taking the oath of office at a historic, decommissioned subway station in Manhattan.
Mamdani, a Democrat, was sworn in as the first Muslim leader of America's biggest city, placing his hand on a Quran as he took his oath.
“This is truly the honour and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said.
The ceremony, administered by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a political ally, took place at the old City Hall station, one of the city's original subway stops that is known for its stunning arched ceilings.
He will be sworn in again, in grander style, in a public ceremony at City Hall at 1 pm by US Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the mayor's political heroes. That will be followed by what the new administration is billing as a public block party on a stretch of Broadway known as the “Canyon of Heroes,” famous for its ticker-tape parades.
Mamdani now begins one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics as one of the country's most-watched politicians.
In addition to being the city's first Muslim mayor, Mamdani is also its first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. At 34, Mamdani is also the city's youngest mayor in generations.
In a campaign that helped make “affordability” a buzzword across the political spectrum, the democratic socialist promised to bring transformative change with policies intended to lower the cost of living in one of the world's most expensive cities. His platform included free child care, free buses, a rent freeze for about 1 million households, and a pilot of city-run grocery stores.
But he will also have to face other responsibilities: handling trash and snow and rats, while getting blamed for subway delays and potholes.
Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, an academic and author. His family moved to New York City when he was 7, with Mamdani growing up in a post-9/11 city where Muslims didn't always feel welcome. He became an American citizen in 2018.
He worked on political campaigns for Democratic candidates in the city before he sought public office himself, winning a state Assembly seat in 2020 to represent a section of Queens.
Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, will depart their one-bedroom, rent-stabilised apartment in the outer borough to take up residence in the stately mayoral residence in Manhattan.
Mamdani inherits a city on the upswing, after years of slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Violent crime has dropped to pre-pandemic lows. Tourists are back. Unemployment, which soared during the pandemic years, is also back to pre-COVID levels.
Yet deep concerns remain about high prices and rising rents in the city.
He'll also have to deal with Republican President Donald Trump.
During the mayoral race, Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from the city if Mamdani won and mused about sending National Guard troops to the city.
But Trump surprised supporters and foes alike by inviting the Democrat to the White House for what ended up being a cordial meeting in November.
“I want him to do a great job and will help him do a great job,” Trump said.
Still, tensions between the two leaders are almost certain to resurface, given their deep policy disagreements, particularly over immigration.
Mamdani also faces scepticism and opposition from some members of the city's Jewish community over his criticisms of Israel's government.
The new mayor and his team have spent the weeks since his election victory preparing for the transition, surrounding Mamdani with seasoned hands who have worked inside or alongside city government.
That included persuading the city's police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, to remain in her position — a move that helped calm fears in the business community that the administration might be planning radical changes in policing strategy.
