China’s Tiangong-1 space station fell into the Pacific Ocean
China’s Tiangong-1 space station, which lost control last September, entered Earth’s atmosphere on Monday around 1 a.m. Most of the 8-ton colossus burned up in the atmosphere, and the remnants that survived the encounter fell into the Pacific Ocean.
Most space junk burns up in the atmosphere, but Tiangong-1 is a colossus of more than 8 tons, and scientists knew there was a good chance that at least some of theore segments survive the encounter with the atmosphere. There were concerns that parts of the station would hit an inhabited area. The chance of this happening was not great, but the risk was there.
Fortunately, it happened that the Tiangong-1 station entered the atmosphere close to where theore scientists would like to direct it, if they had any control over it. Around 1 a.m. Monday, the station fell into the denser air surrounding the planet. The vast majority of the station burned up in the atmosphere, and the remnants, whichore survived this encounter, fell in remote areas of the Pacific Ocean.
Remnants of the station fell near the site called „a graveyard of statkoin space”. It is where researchers direct deorbit stations and probes. The site is also known as Nemo Point or the Pole of Inaccessibility. The point is located in the middle of the southern Pacific Ocean. Away from the human-inhabited areaow.
NW of Tahiti – it managed to miss the 'spacecraft graveyard' which is further south! pic.twitter.com/Sj4e42O7Dc
— Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) April 2, 2018
At this point, four kilometers below the surface of the water, there is a graveyard of space equipment. Resting there are the remains of hundreds of inoperable spacecraftoin the cosmic. Since the 1970s. probes retrieved from orbit, spent fuel tanks, spy satellites or entire space station modules were diverted here. Headownly because it is a hard-to-reach and uninhabited area and rarely podroThey are chewing on this ship route.
At the bottom of the ocean at Nemo Point lie nearly 200 remains of rotion of space machines. Most once belonged to the USSR. They rest there m.in. The modules of the 140-ton MIR station. ISS is likely to end swoj life also at the bottom of Nemo Point.
The Tiangong-1 module was the fulfillment of China’s dreams of conquering space. „Heavenly Palace”, as the Middle Kingdom referred to the station, was launched in 2011 and was expected to complete its mission in 2016.