The European Space Agency (ESA) has
just issued a new re-entry forecast for China's Tiangong-1 space lab.
The incredible 8.5-ton spacecraft is
now expected to crash into Earth's atmosphere between March 24 and
April 19, although ESA officials stressed that this is just a rough
estimate.
"Re-entry will take place anywhere
between 43 degrees north and 43 degrees south (eg, California,
Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and points east)" latitude, officials
with the Space Debris Office at ESA’s European Space Operations
Center in Darmstadt, Germany, becoming increasingly concerned.
In this blogger's opinion, the worst
case scenario would be if most of the massive structure survives
reentry and then slams into someone home, basically vaporizing it
instantly. Another scenario would be the 'shotgun effect' where by
the vehicle breaks up shortly before impact and then take out a small
city block.
Note: This vehicle will in all likelihood burn up pretty completely and any debris that may fall will more than likely fall into the ocean. The odds of someone getting hurt are about the same as winning the Power Ball Lottery twice... in a row! But, that said, if you're have a really bad day....
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