China says its rocket debris unlikely to cause any harm

Wang Wenbin, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said on Friday that the possibility of Earth being damaged by a rocket that fell out of orbit after separating from Beijing's space station was "very low."

Most debris from a large Chinese rocket expected to plunge back through the atmosphere this weekend will be burned up on re-entry and is highly unlikely to cause any harm, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Friday. The Long March 5B rocket blasted off from China's Hainan island on April 29, carrying the unmanned Tianhe module, which contains what will become living quarters on a permanent Chinese space station.