The Hindu : International : Satellite crashes into apartment

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 18, 2004

International

International

Satellite crashes into apartment

BEIJING: A section of a Chinese scientific satellite that was returning from orbit crashed into an apartment building, wrecking the top floor but causing no injuries, a newspaper said on Sunday. The capsule crashed into the four-storey building on Friday in Penglai, a village in the southwestern province of Sichuan, the Tianfu Morning News said. It said a woman who lived there had left five minutes earlier. The incident was a minor embarrassment for a Chinese space programme that sent its first astronaut into orbit last October and has launched 20 recoverable scientific satellites. A photo in the Tianfu Morning News showed the kettle-shaped capsule, which appeared to be about two metres long, lying amid broken bricks, beams and roof tiles. Another photo showed the capsule being lifted off the building as spectators crowded onto surrounding rooftops. The capsule was part of a satellite that spent 18 days in orbit, the newspaper said. The rest of the satellite will remain in orbit, the Government's Xinhua news agency said. — AP

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