Hours after remains of China's largest and an out of control rocket disintegrated over the Indian Ocean near the Maldives, NASA slammed the country for failing to follow "responsible expectations" about its space debris.

At 10.24 a.m. Beijing time, debris from China's Long March 5B rocket re-entered the atmosphere and crashed into an open sea field at 72.47 degrees east longitude and 2.65 degrees north latitude, according to China's Manned Space Engineering Office.

In the coming weeks, China is scheduled to conduct further launches as part of its space station program, with the aim of completing the mission next year.