Chinese rocket may fall over Europe, aviation at risk UPDATED

An uncontrolled re-entry of the second stage of the Chinese ZQ-3 R/B space rocket, weighing 11 tons, is expected over Europe on January 30, posing a potential threat to aviation, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

Rocket debris may re-enter the atmosphere over southern regions of Denmark and the Baltic states, potentially affecting air traffic in the region, Caliber.Az reports via Ukrainian media.

According to preliminary estimates, the rocket is expected to enter the atmosphere on January 30 at approximately 10:40 a.m. Kyiv time, but the approximate time may change by about ten hours due to the instability of the object.

The EU’s Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) agency said that it was “monitoring the re-entry” of the Chinese rocket, which it said could have a “dummy payload” in the form of a large metal tank on board.

ZQ 3 R/B is an extremely large piece of space debris: its mass is estimated at approximately 11 tons, and its length at around 12-13 meters. This rocket stage was launched into orbit on December 3, 2025.

By Khagan Isayev