The last couple of days now, a defunct Chinese Space Station has been making headlines all over the globe with the tag of #SouthChinaSea. Some astronomers have said that this, the first ever Chinese space station, is now out of control and is likely to crash to earth at any moment. We are also being warned that this is a disaster waiting to happen and that the Chinese are deliberately withholding this information from the rest of the world. So how scared do we need to be?
Chinese space station freefall
Many astronomers have warned that the Tiangong-1 satellite launched in 2011 has gone into freewill and that instead of returning to earth in a controlled manner it may plummet and crash at any time. However, we are also told that the space station will likely burn up as it re-enters the earth’s atmosphere or will return as molten metal. If it does crash, the site of the crash will likely be an unpopulated location or the sea. So no need to worry then!
Not quite, we are warned. The space station is huge and may not fully disintegrate when passing thought the earth’s atmosphere. Parts may still make their way down and crash. So apparently, if the debris does make it back to earth; it will likely be a “real bad day” for us earthlings. So all we need to worry about is one bad day. Phew!
What about all the other space debris though?
(PAM-D Module crash in the Saudi Arabian desert)
This is one bit of space junk that we now know about. What about all the other defunct satellites and other rubbish that is floating around in the earth’s orbit? According to NASA, about 500,000 pieces of debris, or “space junk,” are identified as circling our planet at about 17,500 miles per hour.
This is fast enough to cause considerable damage to other satellite or a spacecraft. There is a significant threat of collision with space shuttles, international space stations and spacecraft; many with humans on board.
Space debris consists of lost equipment, dead space craft, weapons, boosters and so on. The danger isn’t just to other space objects; the larger bits of junk pose a threat if they make their way down to earth as well.
There have been several instance of this: Japanese sailors were injured by falling space debris in 1969, an American woman in 1997, in January 2001, the Star 48 Payload Assist Module (PAM-D) rocket upper stage crashed into the Saudi Arabian desert following catastrophic orbital decay.
Think of the dangers posed to aircraft: Pilots of passenger aircraft have reported to seeing the remains of a Russian spy satellite while flying over the Pacific Ocean and even heard the sonic boom as they passed it. So maybe, the Chinese Space Station isn’t going to crash in on us just yet; but who can guarantee that something else won’t one of these days?
Author – Reena Daruwalla