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No plan to target Chinese rocket as it falls to Earth: Pentagon chief
Latest estimates have shown the Long March-5B Y2 rocket, which carried the core module of China's first space station to orbit last week, is expected to come down "somewhere between" Saturday and Sunday, according to Austin.
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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a visit by US President Joe Biden to the Pentagon in Washington, DC, February 10, 2021. (Agence France Presse/Saul Loeb)
T
he US military currently has no plan to fire upon a large Chinese rocket that is likely to fall back to Earth this weekend, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday.
Latest estimates have shown the Long March-5B Y2 rocket, which carried the core module of China's first space station to orbit last week, is expected to come down "somewhere between" Saturday and Sunday, according to Austin.
"At this point, we don't have a plan to shoot the rocket down. We're hopeful that it will land in a place where it won't harm anyone, hopefully in the ocean, or someplace like that," he told a press conference.
The US Space Command has been tracking the used launch vehicle. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Wednesday the entire body of the rocket is "almost intact."
The Chinese rocket blasted off from a launch site on the coast of the southern island province of Hainan on April 29.
According to The Associated Press, the core stage of the rocket, which is roughly 30 meters long, would be among the largest pieces of space debris to ever fall to Earth.
Austin emphasized Thursday that there should be "a requirement to operate in a safe and thoughtful mode" for those who conduct activities in space, apparently criticizing China for not fully managing the rocket's return to the atmosphere.
