After taking over American manufacturing, China has a new goal: space. The country’s been ramping up its space program in the past few years, launching endless satellites and developing space technology that competes with, and even surpasses, American technology in many areas.
That isn’t to say that it’s all been smooth sailing, however — especially if you’re unlucky enough to live in a town in the flight path of one of the nation’s rockets. For example, the country recently launched two new satellites for its BeiDou navigation system. In the process, they accidentally dropped a rocket booster near a local village. Fun!
Unbelievably, this isn’t the first time this has happened. Reports emerged last year that a Chinese rocket booster had fallen from space and crashed into the Pacific Ocean, and in April of last year, an 88-pound metal ring landed in India, which is presumed to be from a Chinese rocket.
However, this isn’t a case of “government doing things and not telling their citizens about it” (in China? Never!). Instead, as Newsweek notes, the Chinese government solved the problem of people being mad about rockets falling out of the sky by telling them to, you know, be careful.
“Authorities in Guangxi's Debao county issued a public notice to local residents as early as December 22nd, warning of potential rocket debris in seven locations, which was to follow Tuesday morning’s scheduled launch,” the Newsweek piece reads. The author then quotes the notice: “When evacuating, residents should not congregate. When rocket debris falls to the ground, you will hear one or several loud bangs.”
No injuries were reported, but people seemed pretty annoyed that their yards now had giant, flaming piles of space junk in them. Hey, I say throw a mattress and a couple lamps in the rubble and Airbnb it out — it wouldn’t be the worst place to stay on the market.
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