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Tiangong-1
China ’s first place place , Tiangong-1 ( which mean " heavenly spot " ) , is currently falling back to Earth in what spacefaring insiders call an uncontrolled reentry . The fall from the heavens ( or down in the mouth - ground orbit ) has been a known and planned - for outcome for the bus - size blank space station . But before we get to the igneous lineage , we must rewind six eld to when the 18,740 - Sudanese pound ( 9 stacks ) blank space lab was launched into orbit .
Launching Tiangong-1
Tiangong-1 was launched from a Long March 2F / G rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Sept. 29/30 , 2011 , in Jiuquan , Gansu province of China . It measure 34 feet ( 10 metre ) long and 11 feet ( 3.4 m ) in diam , with a boat paddle - like structure covered in solar instrument panel on either side .
Shenzhou-9
After launching aboard the Chinese Long March 2F rocket , Shenzhou-9 was initially boosted to a " parking cranial orbit , " before being put into a nearly circular range above Earth . It took two day for Shenzhou-9 to get near to Tiangong-1 .
Docking with Tiangong-1
On Nov. 3 , 2011 , China ’s Shenzhou-8 space vehicle docked with the Tiangong-1 science lab module .
China space station
This artist ’s illustration from a China quad agency telecasting shows the Tiangong-1 distance lab , which is considered a epitome module for the country ’s design space place .
Daring descent
Like other aim circle our planet in scummy - Earth orbit , Tiangong-1 has been at the mercy of Earth ’s gravitational tug and atmospherical drag . As such , over time , without any boosting maneuvers , object like China ’s outer space lab naturally get cheeseparing and closer to the major planet ’s surface — their altitude lessen .
Lost link
Initially , China had planned a controlled declension of Tiangong-1 using what is called a pusher burn , or control maneuvering with its thrusters , to descend back to Earth . But Tiangong-1 had other plans , and on March 16 , 2016 , China alerted the United Nations that it had lost its telemetry link with the space post — that meant China could no longer manipulate the lab ’s inevitable descent .
Lab’s reentry
This picture from theEuropean Space Agencyshows the region where Tiangong-1 is expected to reenter Earth ’s atmospheric state .
Odds of getting hit
The Aerospace Corporation has estimated the most probable localization of Tiangong-1 ’s reentry . The yellow bands are the riskiest place to be , but even there the betting odds of getting hit by blank space place debris are highly low .
Space capsule
This pic of a China CCTV program shows the Shenzhou-9 space capsule lying on its side after land in an autonomous region of China in Inner Mongolia on June 29 , 2012 , to end the 13 - daylight mission to the Tiangong-1 quad lab module .
Approaching the lab
A photo of the elephantine screen at the Jiuquan Space Center bear witness the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft approaching Tiangong-1 module for the automatic docking on July 18 , 2012 .
