Space & Astronomy

Tiangong-1 space station crashes into the sea

By T.K. Randall
April 2, 2018 ·  158 comments

The story of Tiangong-1 has finally come to an end. Image Credit: CMSE Originally launched back in 2011, China's prototype space station Tiangong-1 or 'Heavenly Place' was used as both a manned laboratory and as a test platform to demonstrate orbital docking capabilities.

A few months after it ceased operations in 2016 however, amateur satellite trackers noticed that it seemed to be out of control, something that was later officially confirmed by China's space agency.

Now, following months of uncertainty over exactly where it was going to come down, the derelict space station has finally re-entered Earth's atmosphere and has crashed near Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean."Through monitoring and analysis by Beijing Aerospace Control Center and related agencies, Tiangong 1 re-entered the atmosphere at about 8.15am, 2 April, Beijing time (1.15am GMT)," said China's Manned Space Engineering Office.

"The re-entry falling area is located in the central region of the South Pacific."

NW of Tahiti - it managed to miss the 'spacecraft graveyard' which is further south! pic.twitter.com/Sj4e42O7Dc

— Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) April 2, 2018

Source: The Guardian | Comments (158)

Tags: Tiangong-1, China