China Missile Long March 5B: Waiting for the 23

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Still whole: Rocket "Long March 5B" at the start on Sunday in the Wenchang Cosmodrome

Photo: Li Gang/AP

The Chinese space station Tiangong ("Heaven's Palace") has successfully expanded.

Three Chinese astronauts went into the Wentian module for the first time on Monday, docked a few hours earlier and launched into space the day before.

State television showed pictures of the three astronauts in blue coveralls smiling and waving at the camera.

The remains of the Long March 5B rocket that lifted Wentian on Sunday threatens to fall to Earth later in the week.

When and where exactly the space debris from the 23-ton rocket stage will hit cannot be predicted.

The object orbits the earth and is slowed down by air resistance, which can change course significantly.

In May 2020, parts of a Long March rocket, including a 12-metre-long tube, landed in the West African state of Côte d'Ivoire and damaged houses in some villages.

Nobody got hurt.

In 2021, another rocket launched the first module for Tiangong.

The debris fell into the Indian Ocean near the Maldives.

In April of this year, suspected Chinese missile debris reached mainland India.

While Bill Nelson, head of the US space agency Nasa, criticized the uncontrolled dropping as "irresponsible", China spoke of a minimal risk.

"The US and some other countries are exaggerating the landing of Chinese missile remnants," said Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for Beijing's foreign ministry.

She cited US experts who say the risk of someone being harmed by space debris is less than one in a billion.

What is meant, however, is the individual risk.

There is a 10 percent probability that a person will be hit by a part of a rocket anywhere on earth in the course of the next ten years, although this should only be taken as a rough estimate.

This was the conclusion of a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy in mid-July, which pointed to an "avoidable" risk, since 60 percent of rocket launches worldwide resulted in uncontrolled crashes.

There is no international agreement that regulates the handling of abandoned rocket parts - also because the USA resisted it.

The rapidly growing satellite business is causing major problems with space debris.

However, most of the parts are too small to pose a danger to people on Earth after falling into the atmosphere.

It could be different with »Long March 5B«.

The particularly sustainable Chinese rocket was specially developed for transporting the Tiangong modules.

Atmosphere like in Cape Canaveral

The station is considered a significant step for Chinese space travel, which has been banned from the International Space Station since 2011.

The reason given was that China's space program is subordinate to the People's Liberation Army and thus has a military character.

The first module of the Chinese space station has been in space since April 2021.

Among other things, Tiangong is to be used for cell research and biotechnological experiments with plants, fruit flies and zebrafish.

Beijing sent the second of a total of three modules for the space station into space on Sunday.

It is 18 meters long and four meters in diameter.

It offers space for scientific experiments, three beds and a kitchen.

The arrival of the third module, Mengtian, is scheduled for October.

The space station is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year and have a lifespan of ten years.

China is also planning a space telescope for next year and aims to put people on the moon by 2030.

The rocket launch on Sunday from the Wenchang Cosmodrome attracted numerous onlookers to the beaches of the tropical island of Hainan - atmosphere like at Cape Canaveral before the moon landing in 1969.

ak/AFP