The US Space Command said the Long March 5B rocket re-entered the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean at about 16:45 GMT Saturday, but it referred questions about “technical aspects of re-entry, such as the likely landing site of debris scattering” to China.
“All space-faring 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-scattering hazards,” said Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator.
“Doing so is critical to the responsible use of space and to ensuring the safety of people here on Earth,” he added.
Malaysian social media users posted a video of what appeared to be missile debris.
The video showed the moment the missile crossed over Malaysia, before crashing into the Indian Ocean, and the person who posted the video thought he was a comet in the sky.
Aerospace, a government-funded nonprofit think tank near Los Angeles, said it was irresponsible to allow the 22.5-tonne rocket’s main stage to return to Earth in an uncontrolled re-entry.
Analysts have said in the past few days that the missile’s body will disintegrate as it enters the atmosphere, but it is large enough that large parts of it will scatter debris over an area about 2,000 km and about 70 km wide.
China said earlier this week that it would track the wreckage closely but said it did not pose a significant risk to anyone on the ground.
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