12-08-2017, 02:56 PM
Yes!
I wasn't sure if it would visible tonight, but fortunately there were enough breaks in the cloud cover to get a relatively good view. Here's a little more background on the Tiangong 1 spacecraft:
Launched September 29, 2011
First mission - the unmanned Shenzhou 8, successfully docked with the module in November 2011
Second mission - the manned Shenzhou 9 mission docked in June 2012
Third and final mission to Tiangong-1, the manned Shenzhou 10, docked in June 2013
As TomK clarified, tonight was a normal orbital pass across the sky. At some point over the next four months however, the Tiangong 1 will begin to reach the upper atmosphere, the orbit will further decay, and the space station will re-enter, burn up, with some of the larger parts returning to earth. Because the station no longer can be controlled, it's re-entry cannot be scheduled for a predetermined time or directed to a specific location. We should know several days before it happens, and if I see an estimated time or location I'll post it here.
"Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm." -James Madison, The Federalist Papers, 1787
I wasn't sure if it would visible tonight, but fortunately there were enough breaks in the cloud cover to get a relatively good view. Here's a little more background on the Tiangong 1 spacecraft:
Launched September 29, 2011
First mission - the unmanned Shenzhou 8, successfully docked with the module in November 2011
Second mission - the manned Shenzhou 9 mission docked in June 2012
Third and final mission to Tiangong-1, the manned Shenzhou 10, docked in June 2013
As TomK clarified, tonight was a normal orbital pass across the sky. At some point over the next four months however, the Tiangong 1 will begin to reach the upper atmosphere, the orbit will further decay, and the space station will re-enter, burn up, with some of the larger parts returning to earth. Because the station no longer can be controlled, it's re-entry cannot be scheduled for a predetermined time or directed to a specific location. We should know several days before it happens, and if I see an estimated time or location I'll post it here.
"Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm." -James Madison, The Federalist Papers, 1787
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves