An out-of-control Chinese space station full of "highly toxic" chemicals may crash into lower Michigan, reports Aerospace.org, which has predicted an April 3 reentry with a margin of error of one week before and after. While the list of possible targets include locations in Northern China, South America, Southern Africa, Northern Spain and the United States. Lower Michigan in particular is among the regions with the highest probability of a direct hit.
The 8.5-ton Tiangong-1 had previously been expected to come crashing down to Earth sometime in March, while the European Space Agency's Space Debris Office in Darmstadt, Germany, thinks the window for reentry is between March 24 and April 19. That said, most of it will burn up upon re-entry, leaving between 10 and 40 percent of the satellite expected to survive as debris.
"There is a chance that a small amount of Tiangong-1 debris may survive reentry and impact the ground," Aerospace reports. "Should this happen, any surviving debris would fall within a region that is a few hundred kilometers in size and centered along a point on the Earth that the station passes over."
In January, Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell said that it's impossible to predict where the station will hit. “You really can’t steer these things," McDowell said, adding "Even a couple of days before it reenters we probably won’t know better than six or seven hours, plus or minus, when it’s going to come down.
McDowell said Tiangong-1’s descent had been speeding up in recent months and it was now falling by about 6km a week, compared with 1.5km in October. It was difficult to predict when the module might land because its speed was affected by the constantly changing “weather” in space, he said.
“It is only in the final week or so that we are going to be able to start speaking about it with more confidence,” he said.
“I would guess that a few pieces will survive re-entry. But we will only know where they are going to land after the fact.” -The Guardian
According to a FAQ on the Tiangong-1, the actual impact of the space station might not even be the most dangerous aspect of the reentry. Potentially hazardous materials including hydrazine, a highly toxic chemical used in rocket fuel, might survive re-entry. If humans or animals come into contact with large quantities of the substance, it can cause serious liver, kidney and central nervous system damage.
As we previously reported, the Tiangong-1 was the first space station built and launched by China - equipped with two sleep stations and a habitable volume of 15 cubic meters (529 sq ft.).
Weighing in at 18,750 lbs, the two-module spacecraft - which means "Heavenly Palace," lost contact with China's space agency on March 21, 2016 after the completion of its extended mission, which included a six year service life that saw two manned missions to perform experiments for the larger multiple-module Tiangong station.
The first mission - Shenzhou 9, was a 13-day sojourn launched June 15, 2012 with three astronauts - including China's first female astronaut, Liu Yang. The mission completed two dockings - one computer controlled, and one crew-guided.
China's second mission, the Shenzhou 10, launched June 11, 2013 with three astronauts as well.
Comments
Beautiful.
For god's sake there's always something including space debris!!
In reply to Beautiful. by VAL THOR
Hopefully no commercial airliners get wiped out!!
In reply to For god's sake there's… by topspinslicer
Meh, the US is already a landfill of chinese crap.
In reply to Hopefully no commercial… by Beam Me Up Scotty
I vote for Dearborn Michigan as a space station drop off point. No one will miss it.
In reply to Meh, the US is already a… by Richard Chesler
Tempting, but Lansing and Ann Arbor seem like good targets too.
In reply to I vote for Dearborn Michigan… by are we there yet
anyone still believe the fakestream "space" outfits?
better call the Globebusters!
https://youtu.be/OndMqW76Cc0 - catch some clues folks,
elon musk is making things blatantly obvious for the slow pokes
In reply to Tempting, but Lansing and… by Being Free
Told you they are dumping steel
In reply to anyone still believe the… by SixIsNinE
Smash Detroit, destroy it.
Smash it to smithereens.
In reply to Told you they are dumping… by HisNameIsRP
Pretty much already destroyed. I'm voting for Dearborn. Allahu akbar.
In reply to Smash Detroit, destroy it. … by directaction
Retaliation for the warehouse explosions.
In reply to Pretty much already… by DJZZ
Thread music: "Space Junk", Devo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFCU_Ld9snU
In reply to Retaliation for the… by any_mouse
'Missagain'? 42.3314° N, 83.0458° W
In reply to Thread music: "Space Junk",… by Buckaroo Banzai
Skylab, Skylab, they can't keep it up in space, how they gonna keep it off my face....
The Stever :-)
In reply to 'Missagain'? by Déjà view
Tian-gong wong?
In reply to Skylab, Skylab, they can't… by RAT005
If it lands in Detroit it will be ripped off, scavenged, and fenced within 15 minutes.
In reply to Smash Detroit, destroy it. … by directaction
That video is full of retarded shit.
In reply to Told you they are dumping… by HisNameIsRP
That video is full of retarded shit.
In reply to Told you they are dumping… by HisNameIsRP
Would a few thousand magnets redirect it to DC?
In reply to That video is full of… by DownWithYogaPants
The only surprise in this story is the Chinese kept the damned thing in orbit past the warranty expiration date.
In reply to Would a few thousand magnets… by boattrash
did bezos launch the damn thing?
In reply to The only surprise in this… by Ms. Erable
No carveouts either! Slap the 9irons with uge tarrifs for dumping cheap toxic aluminum and steel in the States!
In reply to Told you they are dumping… by HisNameIsRP
No, Detroit is the biggest bull's eye...
In reply to Tempting, but Lansing and… by Being Free
Anyone betting on Detroit or Flint? Time to get a ZH pool together, methinks!
In reply to Tempting, but Lansing and… by Being Free
Ann arbor!!!
In reply to Anyone betting on Detroit or… by StychoKiller
God willing. Allahu akbar.
In reply to I vote for Dearborn Michigan… by are we there yet
Flint would be good.
In reply to I vote for Dearborn Michigan… by are we there yet
Poor space station...
In reply to I vote for Dearborn Michigan… by are we there yet
Nice
In reply to Meh, the US is already a… by Richard Chesler
Yep, but there is still plenty of room for moar.
In reply to Meh, the US is already a… by Richard Chesler
Michael Moore probability?
In reply to Hopefully no commercial… by Beam Me Up Scotty
Doing a quick surface area to impact zone calculation, I'd say the probability is - large.
In reply to Michael Moore probability? by IntercoursetheEU
u b gud @ maff ;-)
In reply to Doing a quick surface area… by JustPastPeacefield
That is a target not easy to miss.
In reply to Michael Moore probability? by IntercoursetheEU
just Ann arbor
In reply to Hopefully no commercial… by Beam Me Up Scotty
Please fall on Detroit... please fall on Detroit...
Hell, get it to break into 2 and hit Chicago too.
In reply to For god's sake there's… by topspinslicer
Dammit, you beat me to it. Ok, you called Detroit, hmmmm. They are not 100% sure of the exact state yet, so, I'll say, Camden, NJ.
Need to get a pool going.
In reply to Please fall on Detroit... … by Bud Dry
If it fell in Camden nobody would find it. The aluminum would be in a scrapyard before it cooled off.
In reply to Dammit, you beat me to it… by countryboy42
Just driving through Camden will cost you your hub caps and alot more if you come to a full stop.
In reply to If it fell in Camden nobody… by Big Corked Boots
And to think, when I was very young, and bought my very own ten speed using paper route money, I used to ride to Camden for the hell of it. And survived to tell about it even! Must be hell on earth now.
In reply to Just driving through Camden… by Got The Wrong No
And the chemicals would be turned into drugs.
In reply to If it fell in Camden nobody… by Big Corked Boots
San francisco, bro... right up Piglosi's old beaver.
Now THAT contains toxic chemicals!
In reply to Please fall on Detroit... … by Bud Dry
Time for a target practice drill.
In reply to For god's sake there's… by topspinslicer
So 60 to 90% of the satellite won't survived re-entry but we are supposed to believe that some of a highly toxic rocket fuel travelling 20k mph thru the atmosphere will? yeah ok. Sounds like a ruse to keep anyone discovering the wreckage from getting too close.
In reply to For god's sake there's… by topspinslicer
If it lands on your property, you own it under salvage law, like a meteorite. When meteors landed in Illinois, the state claimed some landed on the highway and so it was owned by the state.
In reply to So 60 to 90% of the… by I woke up
ZH fear porn. In addition to Michigan, there are 50,000 other places it might crash into. Thanks for nothing ZH.
In reply to For god's sake there's… by topspinslicer
Absolutely ! A new low, even by the "new" Zh standards. Too bad, used to be an interesting and even informative site :(
In reply to ZH fear porn. In addition to… by Koba the Dread
Lets hope it contains a H-bomb! 炸弹!
In reply to Beautiful. by VAL THOR
那是种族主义者!
In reply to Lets hope it contains a H… by This is it
Hopefully Dearborn.
In reply to Beautiful. by VAL THOR
Pagination