About a month ago a Chinese launch vehicle lifted off from a remote Gobi Desert spaceport, deployed ten satellites and then reignited its engine to set a course that would bring debris down over the American Midwest. The flight, which took place on September 15, lasted roughly 75 to 80 minutes before the rocket fell short of completing a full Earth orbit.
At the time, social‑media users posted videos of bright, fiery trails streaking across the night sky, moving northward from Kansas toward Minnesota. The display was also faintly visible on the western horizon from parts of Wisconsin.
By analysing the precise timing, location and trajectory of the falling fragments, experts linked the event to the launch of a Zhuque‑2E rocket, a medium‑lift vehicle built by the Chinese firm LandSpace. The rocket had lifted off from Dongfeng, a commercial launch site that shares facilities with the military‑run Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, less than two hours before the debris began its descent.