NASA claims that a Chinese rocket fell back to earth, and Beijing did not disclose that information to them. The rocket fell over the Indian Ocean, and NASA needed to know where possible debris might have fallen.
U.S. Space Command said the Long March 5B rocket re-entered over the Indian Ocean on Saturday.
“All spacefaring nations should follow established best practices and do their part to share this type of information in advance to allow reliable predictions of potential debris impact risk,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said. “Doing so is critical to the responsible use of space and to ensure the safety of people here on Earth.”
China said it would closely track the debris earlier this week and said it was not a threat to anyone on the ground.
