Updates on The Descending Chinese Space Station

Well so much for that , clear sky everywhere except where i had to look .

Some more-or-less solid predictions are now coming in: www.theguardian.com...

Hitting speeds of over 26,000km an hour before disintegrating, the Tiangong-1 is expected to make an uncontrolled earthbound plunge on Monday Beijing time, China’s Manned Space Agency said on Sunday – an estimate roughly in line with European Space Agency projections.

The Manned Space Agency did not specify a time when it expects the craft to enter the atmosphere.

South Korea’s National Space Situational Awareness Organisation said on Sunday the 10.4-metre-long (34-foot) station is expected to re-enter the atmosphere some time between 5.12am and 1.12pm Seoul time on Monday (8.12pm on Sunday and 4.12am on Monday GMT).

The debris from the abandoned eight-tonne craft could land anywhere between the latitudes of 43 degrees north and 43 degrees south – from New Zealand to the American midwest, the ESA said.

www.space.com...

New re-entry forecasts by the European Space Agency and Aerospace Corp. have shifted the time of Tiangong-1's expected crash to between Sunday evening and early Monday (April 2). ESA officials are targeting 7:25 p.m. EDT (2325 GMT) Sunday as the likely time. An update this afternoon from the Aerospace Corp. forecasts a 7:53 p.m. EDT (2353 GMT) crash, give or take 7 hours.

So it's expected to reenter tonight/early morning UK time. Hard to believe that seeing it's still well above 100 km going by heavens-above.com... but I'll trust the experts.

a reply to: hutch622

G'day Hutchy,

I'm up in the hinterland about 100 k's west of Coffs. Good skies tonight. Will it be passing over about 5am and should I look north?

bally

a reply to: wildespace

So it's expected to reenter tonight/early morning UK time. Hard to believe that seeing it's still well above 100 km going by heavens-above.com... but I'll trust the experts.

Its slowly coming down , this perigee was 96.96 miles . Moving away from the equator so be interesting to see the next one .

a reply to: bally001

If you go to below and dick around a bit you can find out when it next passes over , it had my location as Melbourne and as we both know thats wrong but if you join (free) you can find out when its best to see it . You may have to change your location though . Tried to have a look about an hour or so ago but clouds killed me . Either that or the website gives tracking info including where its next pass will be .

Ittps://www.n2yo.com/info/?a=61

a reply to: bally001

Should be over you in a tad under 8 hours as of me writing this .

Ok here are the times for Armidale which i guess is close to you .

Ha ha be quick , you have six seconds . Below might help a bit more .

96.52 this pergree . . 4 of a mile lower .

a reply to: hutch622

Cheers, thanks mate. I'll be up and look North to East,

bally

95.07 .45 miles lower . Hopefully it hangs on for myself and Bally to get another try for a look .

originally posted by: MissSmartypants

originally posted by: IgnoranceIsntBlisss
2011?!

Why didnt they just add another piece to ISS?

So why do we share a space station with the Russians but not the Chinese? Russia is a proud nation and China is a proud nation but Russia's proud and cheap.

It's the smell of bok choy permeating the station, that the other nations thought it was a bad idea. Chinese cabbage makes for a very smelly pressurized living unit.

I suppose it could come down somewhere north of us, but no one will get much of a show out of it because it's snowing around here today.

originally posted by: ketsuko
I suppose it could come down somewhere north of us, but no one will get much of a show out of it because it's snowing around here today.

Cloudy here, so if I get to see it, that means it hit near me.

a reply to: IgnoranceIsntBlisss

You don't want to be disconnected when the tension gets hot.

ESA pretty much zeroed it in: blogs.esa.int...

Our space debris team is forecasting the reentry during a window of about four hours centred on 01:07 UTC (03:07 CEST) on 2 April.

China said they have lost control over the satellite so most of us have been taking them at their word.
I'm still wondering (see discussion in other thread) if there isn't an extra credit question about the best time to do a burn for a more predictable reentry?

Any words yet? The tracking app is no longer tracking it

a reply to: Bigburgh

www.n2yo.com has the Perigee at 87 miles at midnight in Africa.
Perigee was over Sudan at 85 miles, its climbing again.

a reply to: Bigburgh


Somewhere over the south atlantic at the moment.

You know - just thinking - on its current track - I wouldn't be surprised if China blows it down so it lands somewhere in the Pacific. Then take credit and say it was planned all along, darn you western media.

But - looking at the narrowing of perigee and apogee and the orbit track its on - looking like pacific is the go

Here is a good site with updated info. I think it will come in the next hour or so off the lower south American coast..
reentry

a reply to: whatnext21

Looks like the last full orbit since the Apogee was off Vietnam.
Could make it over South America but if it gets below 75 miles before crossing SA back over the Atlantic I doubt it will make the west African coast.
Were you thinking reentry completed before 9PM EST?