Washington:
The US military has no plans to shoot down an out -of-handle Chinese rocket now hurtling towards Earth, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mentioned Thursday.
“We have the capability to do a lot of things, but we don’t have a plan to shoot it down as we speak,” Austin told journalists.
Pentagon professionals anticipate the body of the Long March 5B rocket, which fell out of orbit soon after separating from Beijing’s space station, to fall to the surface some time about Saturday or Sunday.
But precisely when and exactly where it will land is nonetheless challenging to predict.
“We’re hopeful that it will land in a place where it won’t harm anyone. Hopefully in the ocean, or someplace like that,” Austin mentioned.
He recommended that the Chinese have been negligent in letting the rocket body fall out of orbit.
“I think this speaks to the fact that, for those of us who operate in the space domain, there’s a requirement, or should be a requirement to operate in a safe and thoughtful mode,” mentioned Austin.
There is a need to have to “make sure that we take those kinds of things into consideration as we plan and conduct operations” in space, he mentioned.
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