Chinese FM denounces West’s hype on rocket debris from Mengtian launch falling on Earth

With many across the world still immersed in the excitement over the epic launch of the third and final part of China’s Space Station – the Mengtian lab module – some in the West have once again begun their hyping of the launch vehicle’s falling debris, claiming it is falling back to Earth “uncontrollably.”

Responding to such hyping, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Friday that it has been an international norm for a rocket end stage to fall back to Earth’s atmosphere, and the probability of this process causing harm to aviation activities or to the ground is extremely low.

China has always pursued the peaceful use of outer space in accordance with international law and international customary practice, Zhao noted at Friday’s press briefing.

“According to information at hand, this rocket is designed with special technology, and the overwhelming majority of its components will burn up during reentry into the atmosphere. The probability of this process causing harm to aviation activities or to the ground is extremely low,” he stressed.

While acknowledging that the debris of China’s Long March 5B, which successfully sent Mengtian into orbit for docking with the space station, crashing to Earth is a “low risk thing,” and that China “isn’t in breach of any laws or international treaties,” Bloomberg said the rocket booster has “renewed people’s anxiety,” and “it’s likely that large pieces of debris from the rocket could survive and hit somewhere on Earth.”

With regard to the upper stage of the rocket, the competent authorities in China are closely tracking it and will release up-to-date information to the international community in an open, transparent and timely manner, Zhao said.