China has been criticized for twice allowing rocket stages to fall uncontrollably on Earth.
Debris from a rocket that launched part of China’s new space station into orbit has fallen into the sea off the Philippines, according to the Chinese government.
Most of the final stage of the Long March-5B rocket burned up after re-entering the atmosphere, the China Manned Space Agency said on Saturday.
The agency said earlier that the booster would be allowed to fall without control.
The statement did not detail whether the remaining debris fell on land or at sea, but said the “landing area” was at 119 degrees east longitude and 9.1 degrees north latitude. This is in waters southeast of the Philippine city of Puerto Princesa on the island of Palawan.
There was no immediate word from Philippine authorities on whether anyone on the ground was affected.
Spectators watch the launch of a rocket carrying China’s second module for its Tiangong space station from the Wenchang Spaceport in southern China [File: CNS/AFP]
China has been criticized for twice allowing rocket stages to fall uncontrollably on Earth.
NASA accused Beijing last year of “failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris” after parts of a Chinese rocket landed in the Indian Ocean.
The country’s first space station, Tiangong-1, crashed into the Pacific Ocean in 2016 after Beijing confirmed it had lost control. An 18-ton rocket fell out of control in May 2020.
China also faced criticism after it used a missile to destroy one of the defunct weather satellites in 2007, creating a debris field that other governments said could threaten other satellites.
The July 24 launch of the Long March-5B, China’s most powerful rocket, put the Wentian Laboratory into orbit. It was attached on Monday to the Tianhe core module, where three astronauts live.
Debris from a separate cargo spacecraft that serviced the station fell in a predetermined area of the South Pacific after most of it burned up on re-entry, the government said earlier.
China has poured billions of dollars into spaceflight and exploration as it seeks to build a program that reflects its status as a rising world power.
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