Chinese Official Squirms at Question About Rocket That Disintegrated in Orbit

The person they put on the job mostly ignored reporters' questions after one of its rockets broke apart.

According to Space.com, the American space rival experienced another embarrassing incident over the weekend when the upper stage of the Long March 6A rocket launch broke apart into 50 pieces.

The foreign ministry spokesman dodged questions about the rocket break up.

A Chinese government transcript shows a New York Times reporter asking if a Chinese rocket broke apart over the weekend. Why did it break apart? Do the pieces of the rocket pose any risk to the space stations?

What happened won't have an impact on China's space station or the International Space Station. You should be referred to competent authorities for details.

Piece of Me

China has come under fire for allowing space debris to crash back down to Earth after major launches. In 2007, it was criticized for blowing up a satellite in a military test, causing it to crash and threaten the space station.

At the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, Dutch astronomer Cees Bassa observed that the new debris appeared to fall into a bunch of different directions.

"All pieces were tumbling fast, giving very distinct flash patterns," Bassa said, adding that the 18th Space Defense Squadron that first reported the rocket break up would have a challenge.

There were more Chinese rocket debris found the same day that the Long March 6A was launched.

Space debris is a growing problem for all spacefaring nations and companies and one that has not yet been solved.

There are more debris crashes on another cattle farm.