Chinese space station ‘Tiangong-1’ to crash into Earth soon

Beijing, October 17: China's space station Tiangong-1, which went out of control some time back, is set to crash into Earth in next few months. Chinese authorities are monitoring its move, keeping the US in the loop.

In September 2016, Chinese officials confirmed that they had lost control of the space lab and that it would crash into Earth sometime in the latter half of 2017. In May, China told the United Nations that the lab would reenter Earth between October and April 2018.

Chinese officials aren’t expecting much harm from the falling debris. But they told the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space they will keep the committee informed as the crash nears.

According to the Guardian, officials initially predicted the space station would crash between October 2017 and April 2018, but Harvard University astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell said the crash could actually occur earlier in that time frame.

But it’s not the first time a spacecraft has uncontrollably descended toward the planet. NASA’s had several incidents including the larger Skylab (77.5-ton) and there haven’t been any reported deaths or injuries in the past.