Chinese Space Station Set To "Crash Land" Within Next 6 Months

First off, I don't know how to add a link from my phone but the info is from Popular Mechanics.
Anyway, the 8.5 ton Chinese space station Tiangong-1 is hurtling out of control around the earth in a increasingly decaying orbit. Sometime within the next 6 months it will enter the atmosphere at which point it will break up with most pieces burning up in the atmosphere but it's possible that some chunks weighing 200 pounds or more could hit earth. They will only know it's getting ready to hit about 6 or 7 hours before it does.
Remember...sometime within the next 6 months includes now. So look up.

a reply to: MissSmartypants

www.google.com...

a reply to: MissSmartypants

I could think of a dozen places here I WISH it would land!

a reply to: MissSmartypants

Remember...sometime within the next 6 months includes now. So look up.

As the time approaches it will become possible to refine the time and location. So, instead of looking up, look here:
www.aerospace.org...

I wanna see one!

originally posted by: ausername
a reply to: MissSmartypants

www.google.com...

Thank you!

Highly unlikely hypothetical situation alert!!!!

I 'd be curious to know; What would the response be if the falling Chinese satellite landed on the Whitehouse and killed Donald Trump (and please dont just say "everyone would cheer"), or if it fell on Buckingham palace and killed the queen...

Would there be a serious diplomatic incident? Would it be excused as it was entirely random and accidental? What do people think the response would be?

Genuinely curious.. .

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: MissSmartypants

Remember...sometime within the next 6 months includes now. So look up.

As the time approaches it will become possible to refine the time and location. So, instead of looking up, look here:
www.aerospace.org...

I wanna see one!

How about..."in addition to looking up look here".

a reply to: MissSmartypants

Well, you can look up there. And see it, actually. It gets reasonably bright, but not like the ISS.

Go here and set your location:
www.heavens-above.com...

originally posted by: Indrasweb
Highly unlikely hypothetical situation alert!!!!

I 'd be curious to know; What would the response be if the falling Chinese satellite landed on the Whitehouse and killed Donald Trump (and please dont just say "everyone would cheer"), or if it fell on Buckingham palace and killed the queen...

Would there be a serious diplomatic incident? Would it be excused as it was entirely random and accidental? What do people think the response would be?

Genuinely curious.. .

I think there would be a collective "well, that happened" and then the news would turn to the latest celebrity sex scandal.

a reply to: Indrasweb

It wouldnt make it into DC airspace.

It would be destroyed while still in orbit

a reply to: Indrasweb

Maybe they can figure out a way to manipulate the reentry and have it crash into the government complex in Pyongyang?

a reply to: MissSmartypants
I am no expert MSP,but I think most of the space station would break into smaller bits and burn up during atmospheric re entry.
I think other satellites and space stuff has done this in the past.
It may make a nice light show for a lucky few,but I wouldn't worry too much in those smarty pants of yours.

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

Likely to be some large chuncky bits that make it to the ground. But it will surely be a sight to behold.

a reply to: MissSmartypants

This doesn't seem familiar at all ... Skylab

Skylab was the United States' first space station, orbiting Earth from 1973 to 1979, when it fell back to Earth amid huge worldwide media attention.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: MissSmartypants

Well, you can look up there. And see it, actually. It gets reasonably bright, but not like the ISS.

Go here and set your location:
www.heavens-above.com...

Thank you. I will. I actually saw space junk burning up in the atmosphere one night. It was a large orange flaming object which slowly moved from horizon to horizon before going out of sight. At one point it was directly above me and you could definitely tell it was something burning. It was this past summer (2017) and my husband, MrSmartypants was in the backyard with me and saw the whole thing as well. I couldn't find anything about it on the internet afterwards but the best description of what we saw was of burning space junk.

a reply to: TiggersTheMan

I see your Skylab, and raise you Mir

Biggest ever. Like no one has ever seen. Huge.

a reply to: MissSmartypants

Haha.. you might be right...

Joking aside though; could China be held responsible if their failing technology was responsible for a serious incident... what if, for example, a large piece of the flaming debris smashed into the Pentagon or into MI5 HQ or something? Would it be considered some kind of negligence? Could they be blamed? I'm really not sure... my feeling is that surely there would have to be some kind of a response beyond "ahh well... # happens"

originally posted by: Silcone Synapse
a reply to: MissSmartypants
I am no expert MSP,but I think most of the space station would break into smaller bits and burn up during atmospheric re entry.
I think other satellites and space stuff has done this in the past.
It may make a nice light show for a lucky few,but I wouldn't worry too much in those smarty pants of yours.

Large pieces of Skylab landed in Australia so again...look up.

a reply to: Phage

It would be a priveledge for me to find a nice chunk of it smoking in a field while out walking!
I've always wanted to find a nice bit of space junk since I was a kid,a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.

Been a while Phage,glad to see you are stll knocking around the ATS !
(I have been in stasis)

a reply to: Silcone Synapse
Probably would cool down by the time it reached the ground. But there could be hydrazine or something even worse around. Best not be handling stuff like that.