Keep a hard hat handy....

[daib0]

Good news, everybody, an out of control space station is hurtling towards Earth.

It's been a matter of speculation for a while and now China have finally confirmed that one of their space stations is crashing towards to Earth and that it might be out of control. S^*= !!!!

The 8.5 tonne Tiangong-1 space station is likely to have reached Earth by 2017, so that gives us all a bit of time to say goodbye to our loved ones.

Its currently orbiting at a height of around 370km and Chinese officials will keep an eye on its movements. They will let us know if there's a change in estimated arrival time.

Astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell told the Guardian that while most of the space station will burn up in the Earth atmosphere, some parts will be too dense to fully burn: "There will be lumps of about 100kg or so, still enough to give you a nasty wallop if it hit you. Yes, there's a chance it will do damage, it might take out someone's car, there will be a rain of a few pieces of metal, it might go through someone's roof, like if a flap fell off a plane, but it is not widespread damage."

It's been up in space since 2011 but ended its mission last March. Since March, several astronomers have spoken out about the fact that it seems to be wandering aimlessly and heading towards Earth. However, until now, China refused to release an official statement.



The papers are just picking up on this now too -

For example -

The Guardian

China's Tiangong-1 space station 'out of control' and will crash to Earth

Chinese authorities confirm the eight-tonne ‘Heavenly Palace’ lab will re-enter the atmosphere sometime in 2017 with some parts likely to hit Earth

https://www.theguardian.com/science/201 ... h-to-earth


How might you protect yourselves?