Chinese Rockets Sighted in Bali-Lampung Not Related, BRIN Analysis

Over the past week, Chinese rockets have been spotted in the skies over Lampung and Bali, going viral on social media. The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has revealed that the two Chinese rockets seen in Indonesian airspace are not connected.

“There is no relation between them,” said BRIN researcher Thomas Djamaluddin to reporters on Monday (13/4/2026).

Thomas explained that the rocket seen in Lampung was a CZ-3B type, which has been launched for a long time. Meanwhile, the more recent sighting over Bali was a Jielong type.

“The one that fell on 4 April 2026 was the remnant of a CZ-3B rocket launched on 23 January 2015. The one seen on 11 April was a Jielong 3 rocket in the process of launching towards orbit,” said Thomas.

Thomas explained that space debris, including rockets, can fall back to Earth every day. Space debris, he said, can fall anywhere, but remains in uninhabited areas.

“Almost every day, space debris falls. Most of it falls in uninhabited areas (oceans, deserts, or forests),” he stated.

On the other hand, Thomas said that Chinese and Indian rockets often pass through Indonesian airspace. However, it should be noted that rockets differ from aircraft, which cruise at lower altitudes.

“The launch trajectories of Chinese and Indian rockets often pass over Indonesia, but they differ from aeroplanes. For rocket launches, there is no requirement to seek permission from the countries overflown because they are above aeroplane cruising altitudes and destined for space,” he added.

As is known, space debris from the Chinese CZ-3B rocket was seen in the sky over Lampung last week. BRIN stated that the rocket remnant launched from the direction of India towards the Indian Ocean.

Most recently, a video recording showing a glowing object in the sky over Bali went viral. BRIN said the object was a Chinese rocket named Smart Dragon-3 or Jielong-3.