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posted by martyb on Wednesday October 18 2017, @03:06PM   Printer-friendly
from the down-to-earth-warning dept.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/oct/13/tiangong-1-chinese-space-station-will-crash-to-earth-within-months

An 8.5-tonne Chinese space station has accelerated its out-of-control descent towards Earth and is expected to crash to the surface within a few months.

The Tiangong-1 or "Heavenly Palace" lab was launched in 2011 and described as a "potent political symbol" of China, part of an ambitious scientific push to turn China into a space superpower. It was used for both manned and unmanned missions and visited by China's first female astronaut, Liu Yang, in 2012.

But in 2016, after months of speculation, Chinese officials confirmed they had lost control of the space station and it would crash to Earth in 2017 or 2018. China's space agency has since notified the UN that it expects Tiangong-1 to come down between October 2017 and April 2018.

[...] Although much of the craft is expected to burn up in the atmosphere, McDowell says some parts might still weigh up to 100kg when they crash into the Earth's surface.


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  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 18 2017, @05:58PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 18 2017, @05:58PM (#584028)

    The last thing you want in crowded orbital space is an explosion. The incredible amount of new debris created by that sort of thing is terrible for all of our other satellites. Deorbiting is, by far, the preferable way - even uncontrolled.

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  • (Score: 2) by goodie on Wednesday October 18 2017, @06:42PM (1 child)

    by goodie (1877) on Wednesday October 18 2017, @06:42PM (#584045) Journal

    True... I should have specified that perhaps there was a way to do it at hte right time. Which would then be very dangerous coming to think of it. Good thing I'm not in control of these kinds of decisions lol

    • (Score: 2) by JNCF on Wednesday October 18 2017, @07:00PM

      by JNCF (4317) on Wednesday October 18 2017, @07:00PM (#584054) Journal

      Eh, as long as the whole fireworks show was live-streamed I wouldn't mind putting you in charge of it.