NASA Demands China Take Responsibility For Long March 5B Rocket Crash
JAKARTA - The United States Space Agency (NASA) has criticized China for failing to meet the safety standards of the rocket launch process. Especially after the wreckage of the Long March 5B rocket crashed into the Indian Ocean.
"Space countries should minimize the risk to people and property on Earth from the re-entry of space objects and maximize transparency regarding such operations," NASA Administrator Senator Bill Nelson said in a statement as quoted by CNN International on Monday, May 10.
"China has failed to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris," he added.
According to reports posted via social media WeChat, most of the Long March 5B rocket caught fire as it re-entered the atmosphere. Some of them fell west of maldives and it is not yet known where the other pieces will fall.
The nearly 40,000-pound, 108-meter-high rocket launched and carried parts for construction of China's space station on April 29. Once the fuel runs out, the rocket is left to glide in space uncontrollably.
In general, the international space community is trying to avoid such a scenario. Because most rockets used to lift satellites and other objects into space do a more controlled re-entry and point to the sea.
Some of them even remain in Earth orbit for many years. But China's Long March rocket is designed to glide in low-Earth orbit, so it's uncertain when or where the rocket part will fall. Clearly this poses a serious threat to densely populated areas.
Previously reported, the Long March 5B rocket crashed from Earth's atmosphere. The incident recalls a Chinese space laboratory that crashed in the Pacific Ocean, which malfunctioned in Earth orbit.
Despite the events, earth's orbit has actually been filled with hundreds of thousands of uncontrollable pieces of debris, and most are smaller than 10 centimeters in size. Clearly this poses a serious threat to densely populated areas.
The space junk is constantly falling out of orbit, although most parts are burning up in Earth's atmosphere. But such a Long March rocket exemplifies the space agency's negligence that does not take into account the fall of rockets so as to threaten buildings and people on land.