Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/11/26/a-spent-chinese-rocket-booster.html
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Hmm…the article has something to say about that.
China’s first three launch sites were established during the Cold War. Sites deep inland were thus selected to provide a measure of protection amid tensions with the U.S. and Soviet Union. This means launches result in spent stages falling to ground rather than in the oceans, as is the case with U.S. and European launches.
The country opened a fourth site on the coast of Hainan island, south China, in 2016. It has so far been used sparingly, seeing a pair of launches each for the new Long March 5 and Long March 7 launch vehicles.
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Russia’s spent stages also fall in Siberia, not very well populated but i do recall a podcast where it talks about a lone elderly woman who lives out in the middle of nowhere in Siberia and the government warned her months ahead of time her home was in the path of potential fall sites for the stages and that she should evacuate, which she never did. Thankfully her home was never flattened.
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Yeah, I saw that. And it certainly made sense to me. I just didn’t feel comfortable repeating it as an undeniable fact, and I couldn’t find anything else that could quickly confirm that that was the actual official reasoning for it.
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The whales and dolphins:
<grumpy cat; good>
it’s probably easier to handle your own citizens
“Probably”?!
This is fucking China, man.
Hydrazine is hypergolic with human flesh. Do not play with the hydrazine.
In case people aren’t familiar with the totally common word ‘hypergolic’, it just means that it burns when it comes in contact with something without needing an ignition source. So, that’s not really something you want happening to you.
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There’s an article about the business of living with crashed rocket stages in the Altai here:
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The Royal Institution has a short video on these terrifying chemicals here:
In short, if you see red/brown clouds anywhere near a rocket - run.
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Let’s just say that the fellow below is not wearing the suit just because it is comfortable and stylish…
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Siberia is pretty big. The old CCCP could test ballistic missiles over 4600 miles without leaving their borders. The world expert in making rockets go straight up and down again is probably Israel.
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