Anchor: A Chinese space rocket is in an uncontrolled free-fall towards Earth as we speak on Saturday. The South Korean and U.S. Air Forces estimate that the debris from the rocket will likely hit Earth some time Sunday morning Korea time, and it is going to be outside of the Korean Peninsula, but no one knows exactly where and when the crash landing will happen as experts say the risk of debris hitting an inhabited area is very small.
Kim Bum-soo has more.

Report: It was late last month when China launched the main module of its permanent space station, the Tiangong or Heaven's Palace .

The module was carried by a 22-point-five ton Long March 5B rocket, whose used core booster is in free-fall towards Earth.

Space debris is usually burned up while entering the atmosphere, but the sheer size of the rocket makes it unlikely that the descending booster will be entirely consumed by heat.

Experts said the possibility of debris hitting an inhabited area is one in a million, but space authorities cannot lower their guard.

[Sound bite: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (May 6 Pentagon briefing)] 
(Reporter: "There's a Chinese rocket will come down. Do you consider it a potential threat... )  
"Latest estimates, estimates that I've seen is somewhere between the eighth and ninth. You know, and the experts are still working on that at this point."

Speaking to reporters earlier this week, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Pentagon has no plans to shoot down debris.

[Sound bite: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (May 6 Pentagon briefing)] 
"I think this speaks to the fact that for those of us who operate in the space domain that there is a requirement, there should be a requirement to to operate in a safe and thoughtful mode and make sure that we take those kinds of things into into consideration as we plan and conduct operations."

According to a military source here on Saturday, the South Korean and U.S. Air Forces estimate that debris will likely hit Earth some time Sunday morning Korea time.

The window between 21:00 GMT Saturday and 07:00 GMT Sunday will narrow as the actual re-entry approaches. 

According to the U.S. Aerospace Corporation, the latest prediction by its Center for Orbital Reentry and Debris Studies suggests that the crash site will be near the North Island of New Zealand, but cautioned that there is a wide range of possible reentry paths.

A Korean military source said the predictions continuously change, but the Korean Peninsula is not within the possible trajectories.

China’s foreign ministry said that most debris will be burned up on re-entry, saying that it is highly unlikely the process will cause any harm. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.