China defends handling of rocket that fell to Earth

China is defending its handling of a rocket booster that burned up over the Indian Ocean and says it is unfairly being held to different standards than the U.S. and other space programs

BEIJING -- China’s government defended its handling of a rocket booster that burned up over the Indian Ocean and said Monday it was unfairly being held to different standards than the U.S. and other space programs. The administrator of the American space agency and others accused Beijing of acting recklessly by allowing its rocket to fall to Earth seemingly uncontrolled Sunday after carrying a space station into orbit. The Chinese space agency said most of the 30-meter (100-foot) -long main stage of the Long March 5B rocket burned up above the Maldives. “China has been closely tracking its trajectory and issued statements on the re-entry situation in advance,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said. “There has been no report of harm on the ground. China also shares the results of re-entry predictions through international cooperation mechanisms.”