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Comment and Space

China's reckless attitude to space debris needs to change

Recent near misses show China's pursuit of space prowess seems to trump debris risks. The re-entry of its space station is another looming drama, says Paul Marks

By Paul Marks

14 February 2018

Tiangong-1 space station

Tiangong-1: Heading for Earth?

CNSA

Residents of Xiangdu in southern China pointed their smartphones skyward at an object tumbling from the heavens last month. In , the object explodes in fields on a hillside outside town. It turned out to be a strap-on booster from a rocket that had launched from a site 700 kilometres away.

To reinforce the suspicion that this was no accident, the same thing happened again in the same region this week, with near buildings.

It was sheer luck no one was maimed or killed, especially given…

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