China's Tiangong-1 due for uncontrolled re-entry, soon

Tiangong-1 potential re-entry area. Map showing the area between 42.8 degrees North and 42.8 degrees South latitude (in green), over which Tiangong-1 could reenter. Image via ESA CC BY-SA IGO 3.0.

China’s first space station – Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace 1) – was launched in 2011, and, originally, a controlled re-entry was planned. Firing the craft’s engines would have enabled controllers to allow the craft to burn up (mostly) over a large, unpopulated region of the South Pacific ocean. Any surviving pieces would have fallen into the ocean. But, in March 2016, the Tiangong-1 space station ceased functioning. Ground teams lost control of the craft, and it can no longer be commanded to fire its engines. It is, therefore, expected to make an uncontrolled reentry … soon.

The current estimated window for Tiangong-1’s re-entry is approximately March 29 to April 9, 2018. ESA calls these dates “highly variable.”

Reentry will take place anywhere between 43 degrees North and 43 degrees South (see map below). At no time will a precise time or location prediction for re-entry be possible.

Tiangong 1 re-entry window, as of March 6, 2018, via ESA.

The spacecraft’s main body is approximately 34 feet (10.4 meters) long.

ESA has said that Tiangong-1 will “substantially burn up” in Earth’s atmosphere. Will pieces crash to Earth? Possibly. Will they crash in populated areas? It’s not possible to say.

As of today’s date (March 7, 2018), the spacecraft is at about 258 km (155 miles) altitude. Its orbit is clearly decaying; you can follow the spacecraft’s descent here.

Tiangong-1 is not designed to withstand re-entry, as some spacecraft are. It will mostly burn up due to the extreme heat and friction generated by its high-speed passage through Earth’s atmosphere.

Tiangong 1 re-entry, as of March 6, 2018, via ESA.

Tiangong 1’s major goal was to test and master technologies related to orbital rendezvous and docking. One uncrewed and two crewed missions – executed by the Shenzhou (Divine Craft) spacecraft – took place during its operational lifetime. ESA explained:

Following launch in 2011, the Tiangong-1 orbit began steadily decaying due to the faint, yet not-zero, atmospheric drag present even at 300 or 400 km altitude. This affects all satellites and spacecraft in low-Earth orbit, like the International Space Station (ISS), for example.

ESA is updating its forecast for Tiangong-1’s re-entry frequently; click here to go to ESA’s updates.

Bottom line: China’s first space station will undergo an uncontrolled re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere sometime in the March-April timeframe.

Live, real-time tracking of Tiangong-1 here