Detonated: China’s Long March 6A Rocket Explosed Following Satellite Network Deployment

Video from the channel SpaceEyeNews about Long March 6A, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 8:16. Language: English. Video type: News.

The upper stage of a Chinese Long March 6A rocket broke apart in orbit one day after launching, on 6 August, 18 communications satellites from Taiyuan into a polar orbit of about 800 km. The stage, modified to allow multiple re-ignitions, broke into more than 700 fragments. The tracking firm Slingshot Aerospace first detected at least 50 pieces, US Space Command confirmed the breakup, and radar data from LeoLabs raised the estimate to more than 900.

According to the video, this is not the first time: in November 2022 another stage of the same type disintegrated, and the 18th Space Defense Squadron catalogued more than 500 pieces. The repetition raises doubts about the stage's design and its passivation, that is, the venting of leftover propellant meant to prevent these breakups. The Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology had already drafted guidelines for deorbiting upper stages, to be applied in 2024.

At 800 km, atmospheric drag is minimal, and the debris can remain for decades in an orbital band shared by more than 1,100 active satellites. The video notes that ESA counts more than 40,500 objects larger than 10 cm, explains the risk of a chain reaction of collisions (Kessler syndrome), and reviews active removal initiatives such as ClearSpace or Astroscale, as well as the proposal for a binding international treaty.