Physicist Warns U.S. Should Be Worried 'Like Bat Out of Hell' About Chinese Rocket Debris Set to Crash Into Earth

A theoretical physicist said Friday the United States should be very concerned about a 23-ton piece of debris from a Chinese rocket that's expected to crash back to Earth sometime this weekend.

Michio Kaku, a professor at the City College of New York, said during an appearance on CNN's New Day program that the country should be worried "like a bat out of hell" about the rocket stage's impending reentry into the atmosphere.

"This 20-ton rocket, the Chinese Long March 5B rocket, is tumbling out of control, and it could hit anywhere as far north as New York City or as far south as New Zealand," Kaku said.

The physicist added, "It's a huge part of the Earth's surface. Now, chances are it's going to land harmlessly in the ocean, but there's a finite chance that it could even land here at CNN headquarters, right on top of our head. We simply don't know where it's going to land."

Kaku said the debris is falling at 18,000 miles per hour and, like a meteor, will "light up the sky."

The U.S. Space Command said that it's tracking the whereabouts of the Chinese Long March 5B but that its exact entry point into the Earth's atmosphere can't be pinpointed until hours of its reentry. That reentry is expected to happen sometime Saturday.

"We're tracking it. We're following it as closely as we can," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters earlier this week. "It's just a little too soon right now to know where it's going to go or what if anything can be done about that."

The Pentagon also said it will not try to shoot down the debris. Kaku told CNN that shooting it down would "be worse because you would have hundreds of debris from that collision."

The Chinese Long March 5B will be among the 10 largest objects to ever reenter Earth's atmosphere on an uncontrolled trajectory. But according to scientists, the risk of it hitting the ground is low, and there's about a 70 percent chance the debris will fall into an ocean.

Asked about the rocket stage, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that the U.S. is "committed to addressing the risks of growing congestion due to space debris and growing activity in space."

She added, "We want to work with the international community to promote leadership and responsible space behaviors. It's in the shared interests of all nations to act responsibly in space to ensure the safety, stability, security and long-term sustainability of outer space activities."

Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon for additional information but did not receive a response before publication.