Graphic shows Tiangong-1 altitude decay and potential re-entry area.
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SPACE

China's Tiangong-1 space station to crash to Earth

By Jordi Bou

March 30, 2018 - April 2, 2018 - China’s Tiangong-1 space station will come crashing back to Earth in days. While it is impossible to plot exactly where the 8.5-tonne module will impact, the chance of debris hitting anyone is tiny. Any debris could, however, be contaminated with remaining toxic and carcinogenic hydrazine rocket fuel.

In 2011, the Tiangong-1, or Heavenly Palace, China’s first space station, was launched, serving as both a manned laboratory and an experimental testbed to demonstrate orbital rendezvous and docking capabilities. Four years later, Beijing admitted it would not be able to perform a re-entry due to having lost control of the module.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 28/03/2018; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: CNSA
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