About the Chinese Rocket Debris that Fell in Central Kalimantan
Space debris from China’s ZhuQue-2E (ZQ-2E) rocket fell in Kotawaringin Timur Regency, Central Kalimantan. The ZhuQue-2E is a Chinese rocket capable of carrying payloads weighing hundreds of tonnes.
According to Xinhua, the ZhuQue-2E rocket was launched on 14 October 2026 from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation zone in China. It lifted off at 7.40pm local time and placed 10 satellites into their designated orbits.
The satellites carry high-performance computing payloads and high-speed laser communication equipment for links between satellites and between satellites and Earth.
China’s Global Times reported that ZhuQue-2E is a cryogenic liquid-fuel rocket developed using a systematic design approach. It incorporates technology from its predecessor, ZhuQue-2.
The rocket is 3.35 metres in diameter, with a maximum payload-fairing diameter of 4.2 metres, and stands 55.9 metres tall. It can carry a very heavy load: its launch mass is 267 tonnes, with a liftoff thrust of 338 tonnes.
At launch, it carried a special 2.8-tonne experimental payload designed for a large-scale constellation network, destined for an orbit 900 kilometres above Earth.
The rocket was launched as part of China’s ‘Star Computing’ programme, an ambitious project to build an artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in space comprising 2,800 computing satellites.
Chinese rocket debris falls in Central Kalimantan
The discovery of the debris drew residents’ attention after reports of a loud bang and rumbling from the sky in the Kotawaringin Timur area on Sunday afternoon (18 October). The following day, Monday (19 October), residents also found a fairly large metal fragment in the same area, which was suspected to be part of the rocket’s liquid-fuel tank.
The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) said that a large metal object found in an oil-palm plantation belonging to PT Agro Bukit, at kilometre 26 in Kotawaringin Timur Regency, Central Kalimantan, was space debris from China’s ZhuQue-2E (ZQ-2E) rocket.
“This is the second object, after a torn metal object was also found in an oil-palm plantation yesterday. It is suspected to have the same source: space debris from China’s ZhuQue-2E rocket. The precise point and time at which space debris will fall cannot be predicted, but its orbital path can be determined,” Thomas Djamaluddin, BRIN’s Principal Researcher in Astronomy and Astrophysics, told reporters on Wednesday (21 October).