Shifting gears now… to a plummeting Chinese space station….<br />China's decommissioned Tiangong 1 is hurtling towards Earth and is expected to re-enter the atmosphere within the next few hours.<br />It was put into orbit seven years ago as a prototype for China's ambitious space program.<br />We now connect to our Ro Aram at the news center for the latest developments. <br />Aram…. do we have an exact time frame and location of the fall?<br /><br /> Well Mark… scientists have narrowed down a time frame to a four-hour window beginning about now. <br /> The European Space Agency says that based on the Tiangong 1's orbit, location for re-entry will be between latitudes 43 North and 43 South.<br />That covers a large chunk of the middle of part of the planet, including all of Africa, most of South America, the continental U.S. from Boston downwards, most of China and even Korea. <br />The ESA says that is as precise as it can predict and it will have a better picture of the timing of the final plunge in the very final stages of the descent. <br />That's because Tiangong 1's interaction with the high atmosphere is unpredictable and since China has lost all control and communication of the module. <br /><br /> Aram,... this sounds quite scary,... should we be worried about falling debris?<br /><br /> Well no is the simple answer… falling debris poses only a slight risk to people on the ground and the odds of anything hitting someone are considered less than one in a trillion.<br /> You are much more likely to be struck by lightning or win the lottery. <br />Another thing to bear in mind is that space debris falls to Earth quite regularly and, as of yet, no-one has been injured. <br />Also, most of bus-sized Tiangong 1 will burn up on re-entry, with only about 10 percent of the eight-and-a-half-ton spacecraft likely to survive.<br />Any debris that does make its way through will also most likely splash down in the ocean. <br />Back to you. <br />
