![]() The People’s Republic of China did not share specific trajectory information as their Long March 5B rocket fell back to Earth.Īll spacefaring nations should follow established best practices, and do their part to share this type of information in advance to allow…- Bill Nelson July 30, 2022 “Doing so is critical to the responsible use of space and to ensure the safety of people here on Earth." “All spacefaring nations should follow established best practices, and do their part to share this type of information in advance,” Nelson tweeted. Nasa administrator Bill Nelson criticised Beijing on Saturday, saying the failure to share the details of the rocket’s descent was irresponsible and risky. ![]() Four years before, the country’s first space station crashed into the Pacific Ocean and, in 2007, China came under pressure after using a missile to destroy one of its defunct weather satellites, creating a field of debris that other governments said might jeopardise other satellites. ![]() Last year, Nasa accused Beijing of “failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris” after parts of an 18-ton Chinese rocket landed in the Indian Ocean. In the past, China has faced criticism for allowing rocket stages to fall to Earth uncontrolled. In May 2020, properties in Ivory Coast were damaged by uncontrolled space debris. Philippine authorities did not immediately confirm whether anyone on the ground was affected, but last week, a study in Nature Astronomy, identified a 1 in 10 chance of one or more casualties from space debris occurring over the next 10 years. ![]() The 23-tonne lab module will be used for scientific experiments and it is the heaviest single-module spacecraft currently in space, according to the state-owned Global Times. The Long March 5B rocket was launched on Sunday, carrying Wentian ( ‘ Quest for the Heavens’), the second of three modules that will make up China's new Tiangong space station, where three astronauts are currently living. The announcement did not detail whether the remains of the rocket fell on land or sea but it identified the “landing area” as 119 degrees east longitude and 9.1 degrees north latitude, which equates to waters south-east of the Philippine city of Puerto Princesa, on the island of Palawan. China's space agency has said that most remains of the Long March 5 burnt in the atmosphere, identifying the Sulu Sea in the Pacific as the re-entry location. ![]()
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