Noted astronomer and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell claims that the piece of space debris was the orbit module of China’s Shenzhou 15 Spacecraft. Riding on that spacecraft, 3 astronauts were rushed to space in November 2022.
This used to be the renentry of the shenzhou 15 orbital module,
Over s California Circa 0140 PDT Apr 2– Jonathan McDowell (@Planet4589) April 2, 2024
According to the report, the Shanejhou orbital module weighs about 3,300 pounds (1500 kg). Because of this, astronauts get an extra place in the space, so that they can complete their science expressions. However this module is not designed to return to Earth. This is the reason that after a time the module entered the Earth’s atmosphere and rose.
Those who saw space junk first considered it a part of the mission of Spacex. About 6 hours before the incident, Spacex launched 22 Starlink Internet satellites from the Wandenberg Space Force Base in California. It was later claimed that the piece of space junk was the orbital module of ‘Shenzhou 15’, which suddenly accidentally enforced in the Earth’s atmosphere.
There is no response from China about this space junk so far. America has been criticizing the US, China for junk. The American space agency alleges that China is not serious about its space missions, as it does not plan to settle Space Junk.