Chinese Rocket Falls to Earth, Explodes in Epic Fireball

There’s an intense space race back to the Moon underway — between the People’s Republic of China and the United States.

Undergirding the PRC’s ambitions is a rocket known as the Long March 2, a workhorse of the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA). Recently surfaced videos circulating on social media show the aftermath of a Long March 2 launch, where a rocket booster propelling experimental satellites tumbled back down to Earth and exploded in a massive orange fireball as it impacted the ground.

Though the fireball was visible from miles away, an English-language Chinese government statement declared the launch a success, planting the test satellite firmly in low earth orbit.

Western social media users were broadly incensed, arguing that the uncontrolled booster posed a risk to