Two Homes Reportedly Struck, Heavily Damaged

While China was celebrating the launch of its first moon rover, some villagers in a province more than 600 miles from the launch site were surveying damage to their homes and farms from debris that fell from the Long March-3B booster.

About nine minutes after the launch of the Chang'e-3 mission Monday, two homes in Suining county in the central province of Hunan were hit by pieces falling from the rocket, according to a report from the Xiaoxiang Morning Post relayed by the French news service AFP. The village has reportedly been hit by such debris nearly 20 times, according to the report.

One local resident told the paper that three roof beams of his house collapsed, and there had been a large hole punched in his barn. No one was reported to have been injured.

The Chinese Government compensated the property owners for the damage to their homes and other buildings.

On previous launches, debris falling in Hunan province has damaged homes and cut power lines. In 2011, a 550 pound steel frame came down in a field in the area.

(Image from Chinese television broadcast posted on YouTube)

FMI: www.cnsa.gov.cn/n615709/cindex.html