WHERE’S MY UMBRELLA? Chinese Long March rocket to crash somewhere today. This isn’t bad luck, it’s a design issue: “Other orbital rockets are designed such that their first stages ditch into the ocean or over unpopulated land shortly after liftoff, or, in the case of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, come down in one piece for powered landings and future reuse. But the Long March 5B core stage reaches orbit and has no way to steer itself down, so it lets atmospheric drag do the work, messily.”

Says Bill Nelson: “It is clear that China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris.” Yeah, kinda like their virology.