China Plays Down Concerns Over Rocket Debris Falling In Indian Ocean

The remnants of China's biggest rocket, Long March 5B, crashed into the Indian Ocean near the Maldives on Sunday with no reports of damage.

Accusing the US of maintaining "double standards", China on Monday played down global concerns over its out-of-control rocket remnants re-entering the Earth's atmosphere and crashing into the Indian Ocean near the Maldives. The remnants of China's biggest rocket, Long March 5B, crashed into the Indian Ocean near the Maldives on Sunday with no reports of damage, but Beijing was criticised by US space agency NASA for its failure to "meet responsible standards" regarding its space debris. Reacting to NASA Administrator Senator Bill Nelson's criticism, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying at a media briefing in Beijing said some countries, including America, are hyping up the issue even though the rocket debris was burnt on re-entry into the atmosphere. "You mentioned some comments from the NASA administrator. It is currently common practice across the world for launch vehicles of spacecraft to undergo natural orbital decay after passing orbital altitude and then eventually be ablated upon re-entry into the atmosphere", she said in updated comments posted on the Foreign Ministry website.