By Mark Gray
5:00pm PDT, Apr 9, 2024
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An explosion was seen in the California sky on April 2. While some assumed the fiery display was from a SpaceX rocket that had launched hours prior, aerospace researchers claim the object was actually the Shenzhou-15 rocket that blasted off from China nearly a year and a half ago.
On Nov. 29, 2022, China's Shenzhou-15 rocket launched with three astronauts on board. The rocket was made up of multiple modules, and the one carrying the astronauts landed safely in China in June 2023. DailyMail.com reported that the 3,300-pound orbital module — the one that exploded over Los Angeles at 1:40 a.m. — was "not designed to safely reenter Earth's atmosphere."
Debris has not been discovered in California, but it's believed that the space junk either burnt out in the upper atmosphere or landed in the Pacific Ocean.
Keep reading to see images of the rocket before the remaining pieces exploded…
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The Shenzhou-15 spacecraft blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, on Nov. 29, 2022.
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The Shenzhou-15 spacecraft blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, on Nov. 29, 2022.
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The return capsule of the Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship touched down safely at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on June 4, 2023.
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The Shenzhou-15 spacecraft blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, on Nov. 29, 2022.
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China's Shenzhou-15 is seen before being transferred to the launching area at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, on Nov. 21, 2022.
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China's Shenzhou-15 is seen before being transferred to the launching area at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, on Nov. 21, 2022.
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China's Shenzhou-15 is seen before being transferred to the launching area at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, on Nov. 21, 2022.
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The manned spaceship Shenzhou-15, atop the Long March-2F Y15 carrier rocket, blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Nov. 29, 2022.
About 10 minutes after the launch, Shenzhou-15 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit.
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China's Shenzhou-15 is seen before being transferred to the launching area at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, on Nov. 21, 2022.
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China's Shenzhou-15 is seen before being transferred to the launching area at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, on Nov. 21, 2022.
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China's Shenzhou-15 is seen before being transferred to the launching area at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, on Nov. 21, 2022.
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Pilot Zhang Lu receives assistance as he makes his way out of the Shenzhou-15's return capsule at Dongfeng Landing Site in Inner Mongolia on June 4, 2023.
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Chinese astronauts Zhang Lu, Deng Qingming and Fei Junlong of the Shenzhou-15 manned space mission attend a ceremony at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, on Nov. 29, 2022.
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The combination of the Shenzhou-15 crewed spaceship and a Long March-2F carrier rocket is seen being transferred to the launching area in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Nov. 21, 2022.
