NASA is interested in China for the return of the missile to the atmosphere

HOUSTON – NASA defeated China In the case of the Long March 5B missileIt returned to the atmosphere in the past few hours and landed its wreckage in the Indian Ocean, not far from the Maldives.

Senator and former astronaut Bill Nelson, now head of the US Space Agency, said: “Countries exploring space should reduce the risks to people and property on Earth in re-entering space objects and maximize transparency regarding these operations.” Nelson attacks his Chinese colleagues: “Who It is clear that China has failed to meet responsible standards regarding space debris. “

Uncertainty about the exact point of the missile’s return to the atmosphere caused public concern, although the likelihood that it affected a populated area was very low. “It is imperative that China, all space travel countries and commercial entities act responsibly and transparently in space to ensure the long-term safety, stability, security and sustainability of space activities,” Nelson stressed.

After the 1979 Skylab case, with the larger pieces ending up in Australia, spacecraft designers made sure to avoid uncontrolled returns right from the design stage. Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at Harvard University, said what happened with the Long March 5B “makes the Chinese missile designers look lazy.”

For its part, China criticized Western warnings on this issue. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said in recent days, “It is a common practice around the world for the upper stages of missiles to burn when they re-enter the atmosphere.”