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posted by martyb on Thursday July 14 2016, @06:42AM   Printer-friendly
from the duck! dept.

Space.com reports (Tor-friendly link) that amateur satellite tracker Thomas Dorman has created imagery that suggests China's Tiangong-1 space station "is in a slow roll." If that is the situation, its motion is not under control and its solar panels are not aimed at the Sun.

In March, official news agency Xinhua reported that "Tiangong-1 terminated its data service" and that

The flight orbit of the space lab, which will descend gradually in the coming months, is under continued and close monitoring, according to the [manned space engineering] office, which said the orbiter will burn up in the atmosphere eventually.

The official statement and Dorman's observations have led to speculation that the craft's descent may take place in an uncontrolled manner, increasing the possibility that debris will fall in populated areas.

Additional coverage:


Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Thursday July 14 2016, @08:29PM

    by frojack (1554) on Thursday July 14 2016, @08:29PM (#374496) Journal

    The very same Wiki link you posted says this about skylab:

    NASA first considered as early as 1962 the potential risks of a space station reentry, but decided not to incorporate a retrorocket system in Skylab due to cost and acceptable risk.

    So it seems unlikely that skylab carried enough fuel for a de-orbit burn, since it didn't have any engines, and required occasional orbital boosts by Apollo visits.

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  • (Score: 2) by butthurt on Thursday July 14 2016, @09:53PM

    by butthurt (6141) on Thursday July 14 2016, @09:53PM (#374530) Journal

    Ah, I was looking at the bit that says "ground controllers adjusted Skylab's orientation to try to minimize the risk of re-entry on a populated area." Bit of a difference there. Thanks.