After few months of doubt and suspicion, China has just now confirmed their first space station is travelling towards the Earth and is completely out of control.
A senior official of the Chinese space program publicized at a press conference few days ago that the Tiangong-1 space station is expected to descent to Earth by the end of 2017, Xinhua News Agency reports. They also said that it's presently unbroken and orbiting at a height of around 370 kilometers (230 miles).
Wu Ping, deputy director of China's manned space engineering office, during the recent press conference, said:
"Based on our calculation and analysis, most parts of the space lab will burn up during falling"
Chinese officials publicized that the space agency will carry on to follow the route of Tiangong-1 and will issue an update on its probable time of arrival if essential.
Tiangong-1, which means “Heavenly Palace," is about 10.3-meter-long (34-foot-long). It was launched back in 2011 as China’s first manned space station. It finished its mission in March this year. Nevertheless, since then, many astronomers pointed out that the space station seemed to be purposelessly drifting out of control and heading for Earth. The quietness by the Chinese government only intensified doubts about the control of the space station.
China has also launched a new investigational space station, Tiangong-2, just last week, and are currently planning to send a well-developed space station in the start of next decade.
Last Updated: 3/28/2017
http://www.physics-astronomy.com/2016/09/confirmed-chinas-space-station-is-out.html?m=1#.WNpnvlXyjIV
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