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Launch of the Long March 5B rocket at the end of July
Photo:
- / AFP
A Chinese rocket entered Earth's atmosphere from space on Saturday.
This was announced by the US Armed Forces Space Command on Twitter.
At 18:45 German time she was over the Indian Ocean.
The US agency did not provide more details.
According to experts, the probability that people or populated areas will be hit is extremely low.
Nevertheless, there was criticism from NASA.
"The People's Republic of China has not shared any specific trajectory information," said NASA chief Bill Nelson.
However, this type of information exchange is "crucial for the responsible use of space and the security of people here on earth".
China had previously received criticism from NASA for the fact that the rocket did not break up into smaller parts when it entered the atmosphere, as is the international standard.
A "heavenly palace" for the People's Republic
The country launched the second module for its Tiangong (Heaven's Palace) space station, which is currently under construction, with a laboratory on board last Sunday.
The Long March 5B rocket brought the module into orbit within a few minutes.
China's space agency spoke of a "complete success" after the start.
The new module will dock with the Tianhe core module, which was launched in April 2021.
According to this, in May 2021, the remains of a rocket used for this purpose fell into the Indian Ocean near the Maldives archipelago.
According to China's space program, "the largest part" had been burned up and destroyed upon re-entry into the earth's atmosphere.
atb/dpa