China Manned Space Agency
- The Chinese space station Tiangong-1 came crashing back into Earth’s atmosphere at approximately 8:16 p.m. ET, over the southern Pacific ocean.
- Tiangong-1, which translates as “Heavenly Palace” in English, was China’s first station launched into space.
- Tiangong-1 was used to practice docking maneuvers and was visited by two crews of taikonauts, or Chinese astronauts.
- China lost control of the station in March 2016, then launched the Tiangong-2 space station into orbit later that year.
The first space station China launched into orbit is no more.
The space station Tiangong-1, which translates to “Heavenly Palace” in English, came crashing back into Earth’s atmosphere at approximately 8:16 p.m ET over the southern Pacific ocean, according to numerous sources, including the Joint Force Space Component Command, a statement from China reported by the AFP, and the Aerospace Corp.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
NOW WATCH: Here’s why I’m donating my body to science
See Also:
- China’s bus-size space station could crash to Earth in about five hours — or sooner
- Why it’s so hard to tell where the Chinese space station Tiangong-1 will crash
- These may be the last photos of the Chinese space station before it falls to Earth