{"id":18584,"date":"2018-04-01T17:59:28","date_gmt":"2018-04-01T09:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/china-and-u-s-say-tiangong-1-space-lab-plunged-to-a-fiery-doom-over-the-pacific\/"},"modified":"2018-04-01T17:59:28","modified_gmt":"2018-04-01T09:59:28","slug":"china-and-u-s-say-tiangong-1-space-lab-plunged-to-a-fiery-doom-over-the-pacific","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/china-and-u-s-say-tiangong-1-space-lab-plunged-to-a-fiery-doom-over-the-pacific\/","title":{"rendered":"China and U.S. say Tiangong-1 space lab plunged to a fiery doom over the Pacific"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tiangong-1
An artist\u2019s conception shows the fiery breakup of China\u2019s Tiangong-1 space lab. (AGI Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

China\u2019s Tiangong-1 space lab is no more.<\/p>\n

The 8.5-ton spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere at about 5:15 p.m. PT today (00:15 GMT on April 2) over the Pacific Ocean, and any pieces that survived the fiery plunge should have fallen into the central area of the South Pacific, Chinese space officials said.<\/p>\n

The U.S. military\u2019s Joint Force Space Component Command issued a similar report, setting the time of re-entry at about 5:16 p.m.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the JFSCC said it used its Space Surveillance Network sensors as well as orbital analysis tools to determine the time of re-entry, and confirmed its information with its counterparts in Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and South Korea.<\/p>\n

The operation was in line with the space command\u2019s mission \u201cto monitor space and the tens of thousands of pieces of debris that congest it, while at the same time working with allies and partners to enhance spaceflight safety and increase transparency in the space domain,\u201d said Maj. Gen. Stephen Whiting, the JFSCC\u2019s deputy commander and commander of the 14th Air Force.<\/p>\n