Re-Entry: Long March 3C Rocket Body

Patrick Blau 3420 Views
Photo: ChinaNews.com
Photo: ChinaNews.com

A Long March 3C rocket stage re-entered the atmosphere on March 23, 2016 after one year in orbit, making a slow decay from a highly elliptical Geostationary Transfer Orbit. The Long March 3C rocket launched the first third generation Beidou Navigation Satellite on its way to a Geosynchronous Orbit.

NORAD ID: 30550
Origin: China
Object: CZ-3C Rocket Body
Type: Long March 3C Upper Stage
Dry Mass: 2,740 Kilograms
Inclination: 54.5°
Launched: March 30, 2015 – 13:52UTC
Launch Vehicle: Long March 3C
Launch Site: Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China

Re-Entry Prediction: March 23, 2016 – 13:13 UTC +/-1 Min.
Re-Entry Zone: Pacific Ocean

Re-Entry Zone
Image: Spaceflight101/Orbitron
Image: Spaceflight101/Orbitron
China Long March Long March 3C Re-Entry Re-Entry Feature