M’sians Could See Crashing Chinese Space Station on 30th March, Says National Space Agency

Remember when news of an 8.5 tonne space station about to crash down to Earth made headlines everywhere last year?

Well, now it looks like it could finally be making its way down here sometime soon! 

According to the Malay Mail Online, the National Space Agency (Angkasa) stated that China’s Tiangong-1 Space Station, which is already falling to Earth, is expected to streak across Malaysian skies for 81 seconds starting from 3.19am on Friday (30th March).

Source: the star

The space station’s current altitude is 182.462km, but is expected to drop to 182.407km.

Angkasa has also reminded Malaysians not to touch or take any “suspicious-looking objects” that could be debris from the station.

“Angkasa has taken an early step by monitoring the drop in the Tiangong-1’s altitude beginning November 2017,” Angkasa director-general Noordin Ahmad was quoted as saying.

Source: sky & telescope

He added that the probability of this space station crashing in Malaysia is only 0.09 per cent. However, Angkasa has worked with the National Security Council to prepare for any possibility following the space station’s crash.

Meanwhile, the public have been advised to call 999 if they have observed anything, and to provide the location and time of the incident. Noordin Ahmad also added that providing a video recording of the space station’s re-entry would be better as well.

Experts around the world have predicted that this space station could finally crash sometime this weekend, between 31st March and 1st April, but its exact crash site is hard to predict due to its orientation.

So, keep your eyes on the sky these next few days, guys. Also, call the authorities if you’ve spotted something!

Also read: China’s Space Station is Crashing Down to Earth, KL Listed Among Potential Crash Zones