Spanish airspace partially closed as Chinese rocket debris falls to Earth

A large chunk of the massive rocket used to deliver the third module of China's Tiangong space station fell back to Earth, triggering the closure of some of Spain's airspace and causing hundreds of flight delays.

A large part of the Long March 5B (CZ-5B) rocket broke up as it reentered the Earth's atmosphere over the south-central Pacific ocean after being blasted off from southern China.

One of the largest pieces of debris returned to Earth was the core stage of the rocket, which weighed between 17 and 23 tonnes.

The airspace over Catalonia and the Balearic islands was restricted due to the re-entry.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency recommended that the remains of the Chinese space object be destroyed in accordance with the recommendations of the Department.

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Flight delays of half an hour were caused by the airspace being closed. 300 of the 5,484 flights scheduled across its 46 airports were affected.

Since its launch, the Long March 5B has flown four times. The first deployment of the rocket caused damage to buildings in the west African nation.

The debris from the second and third flights landed in the Indian Ocean.

The re-entry of a rocket into the atmosphere is a common practice around the world, according to a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman.

The probability of causing harm to aviation activities and the ground is extremely low because of the special technology used in this rocket.

The report was contributed to by the news agency.