A Long March-5B Y3 rocket blasting off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan. Credit: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator released this statement Saturday, July 30 regarding debris from the Chinese Long March 5B rocket:
“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) did not share specific trajectory information as their Long March 5B rocket fell back to Earth.
“All spacefaring nations should follow established best practices, and do their part to share this type of information in advance to allow reliable predictions of potential debris impact risk, especially for heavy-lift vehicles, like the Long March 5B, which carry a significant risk of loss of life and property. Doing so is critical to the responsible use of space and to ensure the safety of people here on Earth.”
The video in the tweet below, which was captured in Kuching, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo, appears to show the Long March 5B rocket debris bruning up in the atmosphere:
meteor spotted in kuching! #jalanbako 31/7/2022 pic.twitter.com/ff8b2zI2sw
— Nazri sulaiman (@nazriacai) July 30, 2022
The following video, captured in Kuching, Malaysia, also shows the rocket debris.
Kuching Sarawak.. meteor or apa pic.twitter.com/HJzN1zbOJ6
— hanifDaslepzz ➐ (@hanifDaslepzz) July 30, 2022
Space debris is a growing problem that is threatening the future space economy.