[meteorite-list] Rocket Debris from Chang'e 3 Launch Damages Villagers' Houses

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 3 Dec 2013 09:26:05 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <201312031726.rB3HQ5Ih029173_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/12/03/china-moon-rocket-village-destroyed_n_4376222.html

Chinese Space Rocket Debris Falls To Earth And Wrecks Villagers' Houses
Huffington Post UK
December 3, 2013
 
China's recent blast-off of it's first ever lunar landing mission may
have marked a watershed in the country's galactic ambitions - but try
telling that to villagers in Suining.

What appears to be debris from the 'Jade Rabbit' launch fell to Earth
and wrecked a couple of houses.

A resident told the Xiaoxiang Morning Post: "Three of the roof beams have
crashed down on our house, and a big hole has been punched into our barn."

[Photo of large hole in roof with large rocket nozzle on floor]
 
Another said: "The huge sound scared the living daylights out of me."

Authorities paid around ?1,100 in compensation to those affected.

Worryingly this is not the first time it has happened. The county has
been hit by debris nearly 20 times since the 1990s.

[Closeup photo of roof damage]
 
The unmanned Chang'3 3 lander and the Yutu rover lifted off atop a Long
March 3D rocket early on Monday morning, local time, from the Xichang
launch centre in Sichuan province.

[Photo of smaller piece of rocket debris]

China aims to land the craft on the Moon by mid-December, becoming the
first man-made object to safely land on our only natural satellite for
37 years. Using landing rockets the craft will hover about 100m from the
surface, before picking a good landing spot using automated systems, and
slowly descending.

The last craft to land on the Moon was the Luna 24 robot, sent by the
Soviet Union in 1976.
Received on Tue 03 Dec 2013 12:26:05 PM PST