Update: Lower Michigan may be crash site for falling Chinese space station
Metro UK reports the Chinese space station, Tiangong-1, is expected to crash into the Earth early April, and it looks like lower Michigan is a likely impact site. Northern China, central Italy, northern Spain, the Middle East, New Zealand, Tasmania, South America, southern Africa, and northern states in the US have also been identified as the regions with a high chance of impact.
‘There is a chance that a small amount of Tiangong-1 debris may survive reentry and impact the ground. Should this happen, any surviving debris would fall within a region that is a few hundred kilometres in size and centered along a point on the Earth that the station passes over.’
‘Potentially, there may be a highly toxic and corrosive substance called hydrazine on board the spacecraft that could survive re-entry. ‘For your safety, do not touch any debris you may find on the ground nor inhale vapors it may emit.’
So our rocket scientists have narrowed down the time window a bit, but are still vague on the “where” part. Also mentioned, hydrazine is pretty nasty stuff and even short exposures can result in irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat as well as dizziness, headache, nausea, pulmonary edema, seizures and even coma, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. If I happen to run across anything that looks like a smoking Chinese spacecraft, I’m leaving that sucker alone.
Category: "Teh Stoopid"
Good thing it is lower Michigan, ‘casue the folks in the ” U P ” would not like a unauthorized Chineeze entry into their back country.
Just sayin’ …
PS1: With any luck, Mr. Moore may be home!
PS2: Hope no one gets hurt!
As long as the cheese production is not hampered…
Seriously, I bet some lawyers are itching to have a go at some lawsuits against China.
So….Detroit may be undergoing a hardcore urban renewal program.
Please. Or certain areas of Chiraq could use, um, ‘urban renewal’
That’s one way to beat the steel and aluminium tariffs.
Badum tish!
That’s the last time I order Chinese for delivery.
Next time….take out.
“Potentially, there may be a highly toxic and corrosive substance called RICE CAKES on board the spacecraft that could survive re-entry”
Fixed this part of the statement…
Hydrazine surviving reentry? That would be a tank surviving without exploding, satellites don’t have heat shields. Someone, i.e. Metro UK didn’t do their NASA 101 homework on this one. Well, they didn’t put a man on the moon, either… 🙂
This! The fact the station is in orbit between 42.8 degrees makes Michigan a very unlikely crash location.
I’m surprised that the Chicoms haven’t shot at it yet with a anti satellite weapon.
At about 69 miles per degree of latitude, since the main US-Canada border is at the 49th parallel, any place roughly 420+ miles south of that has an outside chance of aluminum rain.
I live at 48.605 and if it fall on my ranch you will be able to buy parts of it on E-Bay as soon as it quits smoking.
That is some funny shit, Roger.
“I’m surprised that the Chicoms haven’t shot at it yet with a anti satellite weapon.”
I’m not. If they shoot and hit, they create more low orbit space junk and re-confirm a capability. If they shoot and miss they create some low orbit space junk, and reveal a lack of capability. No real win either way.
As long as it does not interfere with hummingbird migration, I’m fine with it.
Why did I read that last as ‘smoking Chinese space crack’? I’ll bet THAT would cause eye irritation, dizziness and an edema or two.
The chance of predicting this far out are miniscule. If we knew the exact time, speed and direction of reintry, the possible impact site would still be 1000 miles wide and 8000 miles long. 60% chance of hitting water and small likelihood of human loss. How many folks were injured when we spread Columbia thinly from California to Louisiana?
Hopefully it lands in Flint. Basically one big HAZMAT site anyway.
“Northern China, central Italy, northern Spain, the Middle East, New Zealand, Tasmania, South America, southern Africa, and northern states in the US”
So after careful consideration, close study, and hundreds of hours of super computer time, the scientists can say with a reasonable level of certainty that it will in fact crash somewhere on Earth.
Our tax dollars at work.
Anyone remember that old tv show starring Andy Griffith called Salvage One? They made a space capsule out of an old cement mixer and if I remember correctly the fuel they were going to use was hydrazine? That was a cool show, I think it only lasted one season, still a good show!
WW. I never heard of this show but here it is:
Reminds me of an SF short story I read in Analog(?) many moons ago.Guy owns a junkyard, accidentally invents some sort of propulsion system, uses it to get rid of the junk junk in his junkyard, gets visited by the Feds…
Delivery system for biological agents that will cause anyone infected to get ravenously hungry a half hour after a meal.
Do they still have any of the old ASAT missiles lying around? If it lands in America, knock one of their satellites down over China. Tell ‘em not to leave their trash where it can fall in our yard.
The Chinese unloading their crap on Michigan once again. I wonder if Trump can impose sanctions on that space station.
Well, damnit, if they’re gonna shoot a satellite at us, I say we fire one back at them!! We can’t be tucking our tails and running away at a time like this.