Long March 6A rocket breaks up in LEO after successful satellite launch

The second launch of China’s Long March 6A three-stage rocket ended badly when its upper stage broke up on November 12 after successfully delivering a Yunhai 3 environmental monitoring satellite into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

The rocket’s upper stage broke up into more than 50 smaller pieces which are now at a range of altitudes, from 500 to 700km, and adding to the debris which increasingly afflicts LEO. At least one piece of wreckage is understood to have re-entered the earth’s atmosphere and splashed down safely in the Pacific.