BEIJING: China conducted close monitoring and tracking work throughout the re-entry of the Long March-5B Y2 carrier rocket remnants on Sunday, and had shared a relevant forecast via international cooperation mechanisms, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday, refuting NASA chief Bill Nelson’s accusation of China’s lack of transparency and failure to “act responsibly” over the event.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying made the comment on Monday at a routine daily briefing, in response to inquiries related to the NASA administrator’s statement in which Nelson claimed that “China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris.”
There have been no reports of ground damage caused by the re-entry as we speak, Hua told the media on Thursday, citing the Chinese Manned Space Agency and the China’s National Space Administration, emphasizing that it is a common practice around the world for launching vehicles to undergo a natural attenuation of orbital altitude and eventually enter the atmosphere for destruction.
China’s stance on carrying out peaceful use of outer space activities in accordance with international law and international practice is consistent, and we are willing to deepen international communication and cooperation to deal with space debris in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of outer space activities, Hua noted.
Hua also criticized some US media and certain individuals for their double-standards in dealing with the issue. “We can recall when a US rocket stage re-entered in March at a local farmer’s property, the US media described the scene with rather romantic vocabulary such as ‘comet-like trails’.”
– The Daily Mail-Global Times News exchange item
