Chinese Long March 5B Rocket Crashes Into Indian Ocean
China has been criticized by NASA after one of its Long March 5B rockets failed to burn up in Earth's atmosphere and crashed into the Indian Ocean.
As Engadget reports(Opens in a new window), the re-entry was captured on video by Twitter user Nazri Sulaiman(Opens in a new window). Initially it was thought to be a meteor, but US Space Command later confirmed(Opens in a new window) it to be the first stage of a Long March 5B (CZ-5B), which had been used for a second module delivery to the Tiangong space station on July 24.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson criticized China(Opens in a new window) for not sharing specific trajectory information for the rocket. He believes, "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."
China's National Space Administration (CNSA) is behind the curve when it comes to rocket launches. SpaceX and Blue Origin have both developed rockets that can land after being used, which not only avoid debris, but saves money as they can be reused. Rocket Lab is developing one, too.
Meanwhile, China has at least two more Long March 5B launches planned. In October, another module delivery will be made to the Tiangong space station, then next year the Xuntian space telescope(Opens in a new window) is expected to be sent into orbit. Hopefully CNSA is willing to share more information publicly with the expected trajectory and fate of these two rockets.
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