Enlarge image
Cloud of smoke after the launch of a Chinese rocket in April
Photo: Costfoto / Barcroft Media / Getty Images
Will the remains of the Chinese "Long March 5B" rocket crash into the earth soon?
US security circles are concerned about falling space debris.
The US Department of Defense is currently not planning to shoot down the rocket debris.
"We can do a lot of things, but we don't have a plan to shoot them down at the moment," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told journalists on Thursday (local time).
The Pentagon expects the crash on Saturday or Sunday.
An exact crash site is difficult to predict.
"We hope it ends up in a place where it won't harm anyone," Austin said.
Last Thursday, the rocket launched the first module of a new Chinese space station.
After separating from the component, it began to orbit the earth in an irregular trajectory and has been slowly losing altitude since then.
Austin now indirectly accused China of negligence: "I think that speaks to the fact that there is or should be a requirement for those of us who operate in space to work in a safe and thoughtful mode," he said Minister.
Because about 70 percent of the earth's surface is covered by water, landing in the sea is most likely.
However, a crash in an inhabited area or onto a ship cannot be ruled out.
In May 2020, the remains of a Chinese launcher fell in the Atlantic - a meter-long metal part fell on a village in Ivory Coast.
China denies danger from rubble
China denied a space junk hazard on Friday.
Most of the debris would burn up when entering the atmosphere and very unlikely to cause any damage, said a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry in Beijing.
The construction of its own »Tianhe« space station is a central component of China's ambitious space program.
Operations are scheduled to start in the coming year.
fek / AFP / Reuters
