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A giant white streak seen in the sky over America was likely caused by fuel dumping from a new rocket launched by China, astronomers said.
The white plume appeared at around 1:25am ET on 17 May and was observed over several US states for about 10 minutes before fading away.
Space observers initially suspected it was related to a light phenomenon called Steve – Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement – in which charged particles flow very quickly in space from east to west, energised by geomagnetic storms.
This was because the plume was seen along with auroras in many of the states. “The aurora was rippling low on the northern horizon when suddenly a bright streak of light, reminiscent of a rocket re-entry, appeared high in the sky and flowed down to the horizon,” an observer named Mike Lewinski told Spaceweather.
But astronomers now believe the white light was caused by a Chinese rocket that went up the same day. Around an hour before the streaks appeared, Chinese startup LandSpace Technology launched a new methane-powered rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the country’s northwest.
The Zhuque-2E Y2 rocket put six satellites into orbit, marking a milestone for the startup in building carrier vehicles fueled by methane, which is deemed a less polluting, safer and cheaper option than the more commonly used hydrocarbon fuels.
The Beijing-based company is a pioneer in “methalox” technology that enables rockets to run on liquid oxygen and liquid methane.
In July 2023, LandSpace became the world’s first company to launch a methane-liquid oxygen-powered rocket, ahead of rivals such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin.
Compared to conventional rocket fuel like kerosene and hydrogen, methane burns cleaner and can be produced and stored on Mars.
Space observers suspect that the white streak seen over the US was caused by the “de-orbit burn” or “circularisation burn” of the methane-powered rocket.
“Zhuque-2E upper stage passed over the US Four Corners area at 0525 UTC May 17 and is the source of the unusual luminous cloud seen by many observers,” astronomer Jonathan McDowell wrote on X.
Replying to an X user’s picture of the white streak, Dr McDowell said the plume’s origin was the “fuel dump” at an altitude of 250km from the rocket’s upper stage.
