China Lost Control of Their Space Lab That Is Crashing To Earth and No One Knows Where It Will Hit

6What China has to say?

China has stated that there is little risk of large debris falling to earth. In a press release, their foreign ministry said that the UN space agency is being updated about Tiangong-1 and that China has adopted a transparent and responsible stance towards the problem. Spokesman LU Knag said ‘If there is a need, we will promptly be in touch with the relevant country,’ he said. ‘As to what I have heard, at present the chances of large fragments falling to the ground are not very great, the probability is extremely small.’ 

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7How it happened

Tiangong -1 is a space lab measuring 34.1ft long and weighing 9.4 tons. It was commissioned n 2011 for the purpose of docking and orbiting experiments and a precursor experiment to Chinas ambitions of placing a permanent space lab in orbit as early as 2023. However, Tiangong-1 was decommissioned in 2013. In spite of doing so the country kept extending its use to the point where scientists believe that it has actually gone out of control and lost its orbit.

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8It can accommodate astronauts

Tiangong -1 consists of a resource module which houses the jet propulsion systems powered by solar energy and another experimental module that can accommodate astronauts and work. It even has two beds but no bathroom. 

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9Two manned missions were organized to the lab

There have also been manned docking missions to the space lab in June 2012 and June 2013. Each mission named Shenzhou 9 and Shenzhou 10 consisted of three crew members and lasted two weeks. 

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10 Why is it falling from space?

Tiangong -1 was meant to be operational for two years only. After Shenzhou 10, China disabled its functions and had planned to de-orbit the lab guide it back safely to earth but in March 2016, they revealed that they had lost control and no data was being transmitted from the lab. 

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