NASA said Beijing refused to share any information.
China botched the launch of its super rocket, fragments of which fell uncontrollably to Earth” />
A Chinese rocket crashed to Earth on Saturday over the Indian Ocean, but NASA said that Beijing did not share “specific information about the trajectory” , necessary to know where possible debris may fall, Reuters writes.
The US Space Command said the Changzheng-5B rocket fell into the Indian Ocean at approximately 12:45 p.m. ET on Saturday (4:45 p.m. GMT), inquiries were relayed to China regarding “technical aspects of atmospheric entry, such as the potential location of the debris.”
“All space nations must follow established best practices and contribute to sharing such information in advance to ensure reliable predictions of the potential risk of collision with debris,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “This is critical to the responsible use of space and the safety of people here on Earth.”
Social media users in Malaysia posted a video showing what appears to be the debris of the rocket.
Aerospace Corp, a state-funded nonprofit research center near Los Angeles, said it was reckless to allow the entire main stage of the rocket, which weighs 22.5 tons, to return to Earth in an uncontrolled reentry.
Earlier Analysts said last week that the missile's body would disintegrate on impact, but that it is large enough that numerous pieces would likely survive a fiery re-entry and rain debris over an area about 2,000 km long and about 70 km wide.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment. Earlier this week, China said it would closely monitor the debris, but said it did not pose a major risk to anyone on the ground.
The Changzheng-5B launched on July 24 to deliver a laboratory module to China's new space station under construction in orbit, marking the third flight of China's most powerful rocket since its first launch in 2020.
Fragments of another Chinese Long March 5B fell in Ivory Coast in 2020, damaging several buildings in the West African country, although there were no reports of injuries or casualties.
In contrast, said Bill Nelson, the United States and most other space nations routinely spend extra money on their rockets to avoid large uncontrolled re-entries, an imperative that has been largely followed since large chunks of NASA's Skylab space station fell from orbit in 1979 and landed in Australia.
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Last year, NASA and other organizations accused China of lack of transparency after the Beijing government withheld information about the intended trajectory of the debris or the window of entry into the atmosphere of the last flight of the Velikiy Pohid rocket in May 2021.
Earlier it was reported that Russia withdrew e from the ISS project after 2024. The aggressor country intends to “provide the Russian economy with the necessary space services”.
