Spain Temporarily Closes Airspace Due to Uncontrolled Re-entry of Chinese Rocket

Spain briefly closed part of its airspace on Friday, Nov. 4, over fears of potential risks from the uncontrolled re-entry of a Chinese Long March 5B rocket into Earth's atmosphere.

The temporary closure of Spanish airspace caused hundreds of delayed flights as a result.

Second Time

The US Space Command Center closely monitored the descent of the heavy rocket.

In a statement, the Center said the remnants of the rocket re-entered the atmosphere above the South-Central Pacific Ocean, The New York Times reports. Eventually, the debris crashed into a body of water causing no harm to anyone.

The Mengtian module was launched into low-Earth orbit on Oct. 31 atop the Long March 5B rocket. It arrived at the Tiangong Space Station 13 hours after its launch from Wenchang, South China.

The incident was the second this year and the fourth uncontrolled re-entry of China's heavy-lift rocket since 2020.

Unlike its western counterparts, the failure of the Long March 5B rocket to restart its engine for a controlled descent to Earth had caused some safety concerns.

Every time China sent its Long March 5B rocket into space, it triggered concerns among experts and the public over worries it might land in populated areas.

Lack Appropriate Precautions

As per Engadget, a similar incident happened after the Long March 5B rocket carried the second module of the Tiangong space station to orbit in July. Upon re-entry, the rocket failed to reignite its engine causing it to crash uncontrollably before its fragments plunged into the Indian Ocean.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson criticized China for its apparent lack of appropriate precautions to prevent uncontrolled re-entry to Earth.

The NASA administrator said it is important for all nations with space programs to be responsible and transparent in all their space activities.

Nations must follow the accepted norms and practices especially for uncontrolled re-entry of large rocket's fragments, he said.

Not Only a China Problem

The problem of managing the returning fragments of a large rocket to Earth is not only a concern of China.

In August, Engadget reported, a piece of the SpaceX Crew Dragon was found by a farmer in Australia. Experts, however, the incident differed in many ways from Friday's incident.

The important point in this case, according to Tel Muelhaupt, a consultant to Aerospace Corporation, is that nations "don't deliberately launch things this big, intending them to fall wherever."

Nothing of that sort happened for 50 years, he said.

Another Long March 5B rocket will be launched by China next year to put a space telescope into orbit.

Among the many plans with Tiangong in orbit is its support for China's powerful space telescope Xuntian. The Chinese space telescope as powerful as the Hubble telescope will share the same orbit with Tiangong to facilitate upgrades, refueling, and repairs.

End of Assembly Stage

Mengtian's successful docking at Tiangong marked the end of the assembly of the space station. It signaled the operationalization of Tiangong.

The T-shaped Tiangong space station has three modules, namely: Tianhe, Mengtian, and Wentian.

The completion of the Chinese space station has placed China in a league of major space powers.