Letter to the Hon. Lloyd J Austin III, Secretary of Defense, the Hon. Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State, the Hon. Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, the Hon. John W. Raymond, Chief of Space Operations at the U.S. Space Force, the Hon. Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator, and the Hon. Steve Dickson, FAA Administrator - Gonzalez Leads Letter to U.S. Space Leaders Holding China Accountable for Rogue Rocket

Letter

Dear Sec. Austin, Sec. Blinken, Sec. Raimondo, General Raymond, Administrator Nelson, and Administrator Dickson:

We write to you regarding the recent launch and deorbit of China's Long March 5B rocket. On April 29, 2021 the Chinese launched the first module for their planned space station from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in mainland China. While the launch itself was successful, upon separation between the core stage of the rocket and the space station module, the core stage found itself caught in Earth's orbit. Traditionally, rockets launched will either avoid orbit and reenter the atmosphere to land in a pre-defined reentry zone or they will enter orbit but initiate a maneuver to deorbit itself for burning prior to reentry into the atmosphere.

Shortly after the launch, it was found by observers and U.S. officials that China had lost control of the rocket's reentry and that it was reentering the atmosphere at an uncontrollable rate. Due to this, it was deemed impossible to predict where the Long March rocket would land, with speculation that it could land anywhere from New Zealand to New York. This case of ineptitude by the Chinese in conducting space operations is not the first instance. In May 2020, China launched the same type of rocket which also lost control upon reentry and resulted in debris landing across the west coast of Africa. While there were no injuries, U.S. officials found that if the reentry of the May 2020 Long March rocket occurred just 15 minutes earlier, New York City could have seen significant damage and loss of life.

Fortunately, like the May 2020 incident, debris from the recent Long March rocket landed across an isolated segment of the Indian Ocean with no casualties. However, this fortuitous news should not be celebrated. The launch and China's repeated mishandling signals their continued efforts to not only cultivate space at the expense of others, but also their continued disregard for international norms and rule of law. In doing so, China has again demonstrated gross negligence that has put countless lives across the globe at risk.

It is clear that Beijing's egregious behavior and disregard for the wellbeing of others that we see displayed routinely across Earth is on pace to extend into our orbit and solar system. As the U.S. navigates best practices and standard setting for this domain, we urge you as the leaders in American space endeavors, to work with Congress and likeminded spacefaring nations on prioritizing the preservation of our established rules-based order as it relates to space. Additionally, in-response to China's recent act of recklessness, we urge utilization of the full array of American influence and power to hold China accountable to the U.S.-led established norms and behavior. If we are to continue this rhetoric of all talk and little action, not only will bad actors like China repeat such behavior, but others including Russia will feel empowered to do so as well without consequence. Exercising strong accountability not only ensures the continued prosperity of the international system that we've supported since the end of the second World War, but also reinforces our legitimate concerns that Chinese injudiciousness could very well lead to catastrophic loss of life if not kept in-check.

As the U.S. continues to lead as the world's standard bearer for space exploration stemming from our groundwork with the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 and the recent signing of the Artemis Accords, we must stand firm in our commitment to the safe and sensible participation in space activities for all of humankind. This commitment also includes proper accountability and ensuring that reckless behavior with the capacity to cause disastrous harm is not tolerated among spacefaring nations.

A risk by one is a risk to all.

Sincerely,

Anthony Gonzalez