China says falling rocket unlikely to cause damage in re-entry

A falling Chinese rocket was unlikely to cause any damage when it returned to Earth, the country’s Foreign Ministry said.

Most of the spacecraft would burn up during re-entry, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a briefing Friday in Beijing. The US said earlier this week that it expected the Long March 5B rocket to fall out of orbit and re-enter the atmosphere Saturday, although it was unclear where any debris would land.

The US had no plans to shoot down the Chinese rocket, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday.

Wang declined to answer a question as to where China expected the rocket remains to land, and said that the competent authorities would have more information in due course. The National Space Administration didn’t respond to an earlier question on the matter.