China may have passed a few kilometers from a more than diplomatic incident. Its Long March-5B rocket, used last Sunday to launch the second module of the Tiangong space station, indeed disintegrated over the Indian Ocean during an uncontrolled return. In a statement posted on its official WeChat profile, the Chinese Space Agency gave the coordinates of the debris impact: in the Sulu Sea, about 57 kilometers off the east coast of the island of Palawan in the Philippines .
But more than the impact itself, which had no material consequences, it is the lack of information transmitted by China that arouses criticism. The Long March-5B rocket is indeed not designed to control its descent from orbit, which can be dangerous, and it is the American army which had to announce its return to the atmosphere. in a tweet.
Debris in Malaysian airspace
The Malaysian space agency for its part said it detected debris from the rocket burning before falling into the Sulu Sea, northeast of the island of Borneo. “The rocket debris caught fire upon entering Earth’s airspace and the movement of the burning debris also passed through Malaysian airspace and could be detected in several areas, including traversing the airspace around the state of Sarawak,” she said.
China “has not given precise information on the trajectory of their Long March-5B rocket,” NASA boss Bill Nelson also tweeted on Saturday. “All nations conducting space activities should adhere to best practices” because the fall of objects of this size “presents significant risks of causing human or material loss”, he added, stressing that the sharing of information was “essential” for “responsible use of space and for ensuring the safety of people here on Earth”. In 2020, debris from another Long March crashed into villages in Côte d’Ivoire, causing damage but no injuries.
