U.S. military has ‘no plan’ to stop falling Chinese rocket debris
Josh K. Elliott
19 hrs ago
The U.S. military — including its brand-new Space Force — has no plans to shoot down the out-of-control Chinese rocket core that’s expected to crash somewhere on Earth this weekend, according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
a plane flying in the air with smoke coming out of it: A Long March 5B rocket, carrying China's Tianhe space station core module, lifts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China's Hainan province on April 29, 2021. © STR/AFP via Getty Images A Long March 5B rocket, carrying China's Tianhe space station core module, lifts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in southern China's Hainan province on April 29, 2021.
Austin said on Thursday that the U.S. will not intervene to stop the 21-tonne, 30-metre-long piece of space debris, despite the long-shot risk that it might crash into an inhabited area somewhere on the planet. The exact crash point will not be known until a few hours before it hits.
"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 reporters. "We're hopeful that it will land in a place where it won't harm anyone — hopefully in the ocean or someplace like that."
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/us-military-has-no-plan-to-stop-falling-chinese-rocket-debris/ar-BB1gt8z1
