In recent days, there has been global concern about the crash of a Chinese rocket, which went out of control and no one knew when or where it would land. However, on Sunday it was announced that the rocket had finally fallen into the Indian Ocean, near the Maldives. Although it was not clear whether the debris caused any damage, NASA strongly reprimanded China, saying it needed to be more responsible with its space programs.
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In a statement released Sunday after the debris fell, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that spacefaring nations must minimize risks to people and property on Earth when it comes to re-entry of space objects. Nelson also argued that it was important to maximize transparency about these re-entries. In this case, the space debris consisted of the main fuselage of a Long March 5B rocket, measuring 98 feet (30 meters) long and 16 feet (5 meters) wide.
Weighing 23 tons, the main fuselage is one of the largest man-made objects to have made an uncontrolled re-entry to Earth.
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“It is clear that China is not meeting responsible standards regarding its space debris,” Nelson said. “It is vital that China, and all nations and commercial entities operating in space, act responsibly and transparently to ensure the safety, stability, and long-term sustainability of space activities.”
Experts have been monitoring the rocket for the past few days, concerned about the possibility that very small pieces of debris could fall on populated areas. However, the chances were always greater that it would fall in the ocean that covers most of the Earth or in uninhabited areas.
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China's space agency said on Sunday that the vast majority of the Long March 5B burned up during its re-entry to Earth.
China launched the Long March 5B in late April as part of its ambitious project to build its own space station, which will be called Tiangong. This is not the first time a Chinese Long March 5B has made an uncontrolled re-entry to Earth. Last year, a Long March 5B carrying a prototype of China's next-generation capsule suffered the same fate.
