02 April 2018
In the wake of the Tiangong 1 re-entry on 2 April, a scientist familiar with Chinese satellite salvage operations has revealed that Beijing routinely reclaims its fallen space debris to keep sensitive information secret - even when it lands in another country. But China will not deploy a team to salvage debris from Tiangong 1. “We only retrieve assets of high value, or those that contain sensitive technology or intelligence that would cause harm if falling into the hands of another country,” the expert told the South China Morning Post on condition of anonymity. Tiangong 1 was not such an asset, he said.
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