Watch: Chinese Long March 5B rocket lights up night sky before crashing into Indian Ocean near Malaysia

A Chinese Long March 5B rocket  that was disintegrating above Kuching, Malaysia, was caught on film by a social media user. Although it was launched on the 24th of July, the 25 tonne Long March 5B Y3 rocket returned to Earth on Saturday and splashed down in the Indian Ocean. The rocket was launched into orbit on Sunday (July 24) to transport a laboratory module to China's Tiangong space station, which is still under construction. It was China's most powerful rocket's third flight since its debut in 2020.

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meteor spotted in kuching! #jalanbako 31/7/2022 pic.twitter.com/ff8b2zI2sw — Nazri sulaiman (@nazriacai) July 30, 2022

The video, titled "Meteor sighted in Kuching!" by its creator on Twitter, shows a rocket flying across the sky before bursting into flames.

The Long March 5B rocket re-entered the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean about 12:45 p.m. EDT on Saturday, according to the US Space Command.

In a previous statement, NASA said that Beijing had not provided the "precise trajectory information" necessary to determine the potential locations of errant debris.

According to experts earlier this week, a substantial piece of the rocket's body would disintegrate during re-entry and rain debris over an area of roughly 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) long and around 70 kilometres (44 miles) broad.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, did not respond quickly. This week, China promised to keep a careful eye on the debris, but said that it posed no danger to people on the ground.

China's Long March 5B rockets have a long history of making the rest of the world anxious. Because the rocket's core stages are large and cumbersome, returning to Earth is a challenge.

The core stage of the 5B-Y2 rocket plunged into the Indian Ocean over the Maldives in 2021, which was also observed by members of the Australian Cricket team. Prior to it, pieces of the first 5B-Y1 rocket fell in Cote d'Ivoire villages.

(With inputs from agencies)