NASA leadership rebuked Beijing after authorities reported debris from the Chinese Long March 5B rocket landed in the Indian Ocean over the weekend.
“Spacefaring nations must minimize the risks to people and property on Earth of re-entries of space objects and maximize transparency regarding those operations. It is clear that China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.
“It is critical that China and all spacefaring nations and commercial entities act responsibly and transparently in space to ensure the safety, stability, security, and long-term sustainability of outer space activities,” he added.
CHINESE OFFICIALS SAY ROCKET DEBRIS LANDED IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
Rocket fragments landed 2.65 degrees north latitude, 72.47 degrees east longitude, right over the Maldives, at 2:24 a.m. local time on early Sunday morning.
The debris, which is the core stage of the Long March 5B rocket, entered Earth’s orbit after authorities began sending parts to construct China’s space station, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022.
Previous reports pinpointed possible debris landing locations in New York, Madrid, and Beijing in the Northern Hemisphere and southern Chile and Wellington, New Zealand, in the Southern Hemisphere. Forecasts about where exactly the fragments would land were vague because the debris was orbiting the Earth roughly every 90 minutes.
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The debris fell at around 18,000 miles per hour but did not injure anyone. It’s unclear how many pieces of debris were destroyed and recovered at the scene. Much of the debris was expected to burn on reentry to the Earth’s atmosphere.
