Flights in northern Spain were briefly grounded due to a risk of falling debris from a Chinese rocket.
The Spanish government notified several airports in Catalonia and other northern parts of the country on Friday morning, forcing them to ground all flights from 9:38 a.m. to 10:18 a.m., the General Directorate of Civil Protection in Catalonia announced on Twitter. The hazardous object that caused the delays was the booster for the Chinese Long March 5B rocket, launched on Oct. 31, according to El Pais.
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“Due to the risk associated with the passage of the CZ-5B space object crossing Spanish airspace, flights have been completely restricted from 09:38 to 10:18 in Catalonia and other communities. Airports and organizations have already been informed,” Catalonia’s General Directorate of Civil Protection wrote.
Degut al risc associat pel pas de l’objecte espacial CZ-5B travessant l’espai aeri espanyol, s’han restringit totalment els vols des de les 09:38 a les 10:18 hores a Catalunya i altres comunitats.
Els aeroports i organismes ja han estat informats
— Protecció civil (@emergenciescat) November 4, 2022
Unlike most other rockets, the core stage of the Long March 5B travels fully into orbit during launch, circling the planet for a few days until falling back to Earth.
The descending Chinese rocket booster weighed 20 tons, according to El Pais, though much of this disintegrates as it reenters the atmosphere.
Airports in Barcelona, Tarragona, Ibiza, and Reus were closed due to the event.
U.S. Space Command confirmed that the rocket reentered Earth’s atmosphere over the South Pacific on Friday.
#USSPACECOM can confirm the People’s Republic of China Long March 5B #CZ5B rocket re-entered the atmosphere over the south-central Pacific Ocean at 4:01am MDT/10:01 UTC on 11/4. For details on the uncontrolled reentry’s impact location, we once again refer you to the #PRC.
— U.S. Space Command (@US_SpaceCom) November 4, 2022
The latest uncontrolled descent sparked condemnation from NASA, which insists that China must do more to ensure the safe disposal of its rockets. The falling debris hazard is the fourth incident in just two years, a situation that has led to protest from many of the world’s space agencies, including NASA.
“Once again, the People’s Republic of China is taking unnecessary risks with the uncontrolled rocket stage reentry of their Long March 5B rocket stage,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement, obtained by space author Anthony Berger. “They did not share specific trajectory information that is needed to predict landing zones and reduce risk. This is the PRC’s fourth uncontrolled reentry since May 2020, and each of these reentries have been the largest in last 30 years. It is critical that all spacefaring nations are responsible and transparent in their space activities and follow established best practices, especially, for the uncontrolled reentry of a large rocket body debris— debris that could very well result in major damage or loss of life.”
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson statement on Chinese rocket reentry: pic.twitter.com/2hIdYMASEG
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) November 4, 2022
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The chaotic descent of a Chinese rocket also threatened the Iberian peninsula last year, though it ended up landing in the Indian Ocean, El Pais reported.
