NASA knocks Chinese officials for falling debris

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is calling out China for failing to share information about debris from a rocket booster falling back to Earth.

“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,” the former senator said in a statement on Saturday.

The China Manned Space Agency reported Saturday that debris from a rocket crashed in waters off the Philippines, according to several news outlets.

China’s “heavy-lift” Long March 5B rocket is especially dangerous, Nelson said, and carries “a significant risk of loss of life and property” with potential impact from debris.

Sharing information about space debris “is critical to the responsible use of space and to ensure the safety of people here on Earth,” Nelson added. 

NASA also criticized China last year, saying it neglected to report debris from another Long March 5B. Nelson said at the time that Beijing had failed to “act responsibly and transparently in space.”