US Space Forces “A Chinese Rocket Falls, Doesn’t Meet the Liability Standards”

The Jangjeong 5B rocket booster part, which China used to launch the space station module, fell into the atmosphere while China gave up control, and at first it was not clear when it would fall into the atmosphere. The last prediction was that it would re-enter the atmosphere on the 8th and 9th and some of the aircraft would fall to the ground or sea.

The U.S. space force said on May 10 that rocket wreckage fell on the western coast of the Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean around 11:24. Space-Track, a monitoring service that uses US military data, also said that the rocket dropped into the Indian Ocean near the Maldives after sightings over Saudi Arabia. The Chinese government took a similar view.

The possibility that the rocket aircraft launched into orbit will re-enter the atmosphere and fall without burning debris has caused harsh criticism in the United States. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that countries that have entered space have a responsibility to minimize the risk of threatening humanity and property on Earth.

One expert said that since Skylab, the NASA space station, dropped in Australia in July 1979, most countries have been trying to avoid such uncontrolled re-entry through spacecraft design, a Chinese rocket scientist said. He said it was negligence to not cope with it.

Reportedly, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a previous interview that it was normal for space agencies around the world to re-enter the atmosphere and dispose of them. It also said that the possibility of damaging the activities of facilities on the ground or on the ground is low.

The aerospace expert’s opinion predicted that the dropping point was mostly sea and most of the vast land was uninhabited, so the probability of real damage was low. In fact, it remains the same, but in May of last year, Jangjeong 5B fell to Ivory Coast, Africa. In the future, it may be difficult if China has to worry about this every time it launches Jangjeong 5B. However, China, which has begun to show a strong stance in diplomacy with its economic power at the fore, will not be able to easily change its policy now. The Chinese report also said that it would be an exaggerated propaganda for Western concerns over the case, saying that even if the rocket wreckage falls, it will fall into the sea, so it will be safe. Related information can be found here.