A Chinese space lab could plummet back to Earth in the next 24 hours, authorities say, in a fiery end to one of the country’s highest profile space projects.
«There is no need for people to worry about its re-entry into the atmosphere,» an article by the China Manned Space Engineering Office published on state media said.
«It won’t crash to the Earth fiercely, as in sci-fi movie scenarios, but will look more like a shower of meteors.»
The Tiangong-1 was launched in September 2011 as a prototype for China’s ultimate space goal: a permanent space station which is expected to launch around 2022.
But the Chinese government told the United Nations in May 2017 their space lab had «ceased functioning» in March 2016, without saying exactly why.
As of Thursday, the space lab is orbiting the Earth at a height of 196.4 kilometers (122 miles).
Although the incident has been embarrassing for the China’s space program, it hasn’t delayed its progress. In September 2016 the Tiangong-2 space lab was successfully launched and put into orbit.
Witnesses may see ‘series of fireballs’
Markus Dolensky, technical director of the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research in Australia, said witnesses to the Tiangong-1 descent should see «series of fireballs» streaking across the sky — provided there were no clouds.
