(Bloomberg) -- China should be responsible for warning and protecting people in the path of its falling rocket, according to Jim Cooper, chair of a House subcommittee that oversees U.S. space programs.
“The Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly shown a blatant disregard for space safety, this time by not even predicting where the Long March 5 rocket body could land, much less helping those below,” Cooper, a Tennessee Democrat, said in an emailed statement.
Cooper helped lead a joint hearing on Wednesday between two U.S. House subcommittees about what kinds of international agreements could help regulate behavior in space. Lawmakers discussed how the U.S. can prevent further militarization and accumulation of debris as more countries and companies engage in space exploration. China's Long March 5 rocket has become a case study in space policy as it tumbles toward Earth.
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The U.S. has no plans to shoot down the Chinese rocket, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday. The rocket is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere on Saturday.
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