Mobile operators have been instructed to verify the UK’s emergency alert system is functioning amid fears that debris from a Chinese rocket might crash into Britain.
Officials in Whitehall are tracking wreckage from the rocket as it hurtles towards Earth, with a possibility it could strike the UK.
In a rare move, Britain’s telecoms companies have been told to confirm their emergency alert infrastructure is ready to go, should the wreckage land in Britain and warnings need to be dispatched to residents close to where it hits.
Officials stress debris ‘extremely unlikely’ to hit UK
A spokesman played down the risks by underscoring how “extremely unlikely” it is that the space junk will enter British airspace and stressed that emergency systems were “tested routinely” with partners, including mobile networks.
Yet officials are understood to be keeping a close eye on the Chinese Zhuque-3 (ZQ-3) rocket, which blasted off in early December and was expected to re-enter the atmosphere around midday on Friday.
Fragments expected to pass over Europe
The rocket will likely plunge back into the atmosphere whilst Sir Keir Starmer is in China to drum up trade and investment.
The Prime Minister met Chinese premier Xi Jinping on Thursday, with British officials declaring that relations between the two countries were “no longer in an ice age.”
Poland’s space agency said on Thursday that fragments of the rocket are expected to “pass over a large part of Europe, including Poland” reports The Telegraph.
The EU’s Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) agency said on Wednesday that it was “monitoring the re-entry” of the Chinese rocket, which it said could have a “dummy payload” in the form of a large metal tank on board.
Approximately 70 pieces of space debris fly past the UK every month whilst, on average, three large chunks of space junk crash to Earth daily. The vast majority plunges into the ocean or burns up over uninhabited regions.
Britain’s emergency preparedness teams keep watch on space junk for the remote scenario it lands on UK soil, where it could spark destruction or endanger lives.
Request to mobile networks is ‘unusual’
Telecoms companies regularly liaise with government about the emergency alert infrastructure, but industry sources revealed it was uncommon for Whitehall to specifically ask operators to verify the system is working properly.
A UK Government spokesman said: “It is extremely unlikely that any debris enters UK airspace. These events happen approximately 70 times a month and the vast majority of debris breaks up upon entry and lands in the oceans.”
“As you’d expect, we have well-rehearsed plans for a variety of different risks including those related to space, that are tested routinely with partners.”
Rocket launched in early December
The Zhuque-3 Y1 mission blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China on December 3, 2025.
Built to ferry payloads such as spacecraft or satellites beyond Earth’s atmosphere, the vehicle serves as an orbital launch system.
Whilst the rocket made it into orbit successfully, the reusable booster – designed along SpaceX lines – came crashing back down and detonated upon impact.
Northern UK most likely impact zone
Prof Hugh Lewis, an expert at Birmingham University’s Space Environment and Radio Engineering research group, said the Chinese rocket body was most likely to pass over Northern Ireland, northern Scotland or northern England.
The Chinese rocket had a predicted re-entry time of 12.30pm on Friday, plus or minus 15 hours, according to The Aerospace Corporation’s tracker. Prof Lewis said it meant there was a “very large” amount of unpredictability involving where the debris could land.
He said: “Most space objects burn up on re-entry so we don’t tend to worry too much, but if it’s a bigger object, or made of materials that are highly resistant to heat, like stainless steel or titanium, they can make it through.”
“If there was a strong possibility of it landing in the UK, then an emergency alert would make sense but, as far as I can tell, we just don’t have that certainty yet.”