The launch of the second module for China’s Tiangong space station on July 24.
A Chinese launch vehicle made an uncontrolled return to Earth on Saturday, prompting US officials to blame Beijing for not sharing information about the potentially dangerous object’s descent.
The US Space Command “can confirm that a People’s Republic of China (PRC) Long March 5B (CZ-5B) re-entered the Indian Ocean at approximately 10:45 a.m. MDT on 07/30,” the US military said on Twitter. .
“We refer you to #PRC for further details on technical aspects of re-entry such as potential debris dispersion + impact location,” the message said.
In a statement posted on its official WeChat account, the China Manned Space Agency later provided coordinates for a strike zone in the Sulu Sea, about 35 miles (57 kilometers) off the east coast of the Philippine island of Palawan.
“Most of its devices were ablated and destroyed during re-entry,” the agency said of the launch vehicle, which was used last Sunday to launch the second of three modules China needs to complete its new Tiangong space station.
Malaysia’s space agency said it detected rocket debris burning up on re-entry before falling into the Sulu Sea northeast of the island of Borneo.
“The debris from the missile ignited as it entered Earth’s airspace and the movement of burning debris also crossed Malaysian airspace and could be detected in several areas, including crossing the airspace around the state of Sarawak,” it said.
A graphic showing the timeline of China’s mission to build its space station.
Criticism of NASA
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson criticized Beijing on Twitter, saying that not sharing details about the rocket crash was irresponsible and risky.
“All space nations should follow established best practices and contribute to sharing this type of information in advance,” Nelson wrote, “to enable reliable predictions of potential debris impact risk, particularly for heavy-lift vehicles such as Long March 5B, which carry a significant risk of loss of life and property.”
He added: “This is critical to the responsible use of space and to ensuring the safety of people here on Earth.”
The Tiangong space station is one of the crown jewels of Beijing’s ambitious space program, which has landed robotic rovers on Mars and the moon and made China only the third nation to put humans into orbit.
The new module, powered by Long March 5B, successfully docked with Tiangong’s main module on Monday, and the three astronauts who had been living in the main compartment since June successfully entered the new laboratory.
When China launched its first Tiangong module in April 2021, there was similar frenzy surrounding the possibility of damage caused by unpredictable booster re-entry.
Objects generate enormous amounts of heat and friction as they enter the atmosphere, which can cause them to burn up and disintegrate. But larger ones like the Long March-5B may not be completely destroyed.
In 2020, debris from another Chinese missile fell on villages in Côte d’Ivoire, causing structural damage but no injuries or deaths.
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.
Uncontrolled debris from a Chinese space rocket could crash back to Earth as early as Saturday
© 2022 AFP
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