Spain temporarily closes airspace over threat of Chinese rocket debris

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – Authorities closed large parts of Spanish airspace on Friday morning as out-of-control Chinese rocket debris hurtled across Spanish skies.

Flights from Catalonia and other Spanish regions were totally grounded for 40 minutes between 9.38 and 10.18 a.m. (0838 and 0918GMT), so that airplanes would not collide with parts of the rocket.

“It will take time to return to normality in air traffic in terms of delays. Due to safety, restrictions are being lifted progressively,” tweeted Spanish air traffic control.

On Monday, Beijing used the rocket, a Long March 5, to send the final pieces of the Tiangong space station into orbit.

However, the problem with the technology is that the rocket’s 17-23 ton center also goes into orbit before erratically crashing back into the earth.

The first time the rocket was used in 2020, it reentered the atmosphere over West Africa, and some debris landed on an Ivory Coast town. In another occasion, pieces landed in Malaysia.

On Friday morning, the EU space surveillance center warned that it could have reentered over the north of the Iberian Peninsula.

Less than an hour after Spain reopened its airspace, however, reports were coming in that the rocket core was spotted south of Melbourne, Australia, according to Australian astrophysicist Brad Tucker.

At 1030GMT, Tucker also said the rocket was expected to fall from the atmosphere in less than an hour.