Spain temporarily closed its airspace due to an out-of-control Chinese rocket

The Chinese Long March 5B came crashing to Earth again. The New York Times reports that US Space Command confirmed pieces of the rocket that carried the third and final piece of China's Tiangong space station to re-enter the planet's atmosphere over the south-central Pacific Ocean. No one was hurt when the debris fell into the water.

After its debut in 2020, the most powerful heavy-lift rocket in China has been re-entryed four times. The Long March 5B is not able to reignite its engine to complete a descent back to Earth. The rocket isn't likely to hurt anyone in the future. Astronomers and onlookers follow the path of the Long March 5B back to the surface every time China sends it into space. Parts of Spain's airspace were temporarily closed on Friday due to the debris from Monday's mission.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson criticized the country for not taking the proper precautions to prevent an out-of-control re-entry. All spacefaring nations need to be responsible and transparent in their space activities, and follow established best practices for the safe re-entry of large rocket body debris, which could cause major damage or loss of life.

There is a problem with space debris landing on Earth. A farmer in rural Australia found a piece of a spaceship on his farm. Many experts stress that the incidents that occurred on Friday are different. Ted Muelhaupt, an Aeronautical Corporation consultant, told The Times that the world doesn't deliberately launch things like this. We haven't done that for a long time. Next year, China will attempt to put its Xuntian space telescope into space.