Look Up

In September of 2011, the Chinese launched the Tiangong-1 into a space.

It was an ambitious project for the Chinese, who have even grander space adventures planned in the coming decade, including putting a man on the moon and sending a rover to Mars.

But back to the Tiangong-1, this 8 and a half ton space lab was intended as a prototype  for China’s eventual permanent space station, a 20-ton base set to launch in 2022. While it’s successor, the Tiangong-2 was launched in 2016 and is operating nominally, the same cannot be said for the 1.

Tiangong-1, translated to ‘Heavenly Palace’, has been unmanned since 2013 and the Chinese have informed the rest of the space faring community that they’ve completely lost contact with it as of March 16, 2016.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that it’s orbit is decaying and it is now expected to crash-land on earth by the end of March, 2018. While most of it will likely burn up and disentrate upon re-entry, there’s a 1 in 1 trillion chance of a human getting hit by a piece of the lab. About the same chance as getting hit by lightning.

Still, I feel like there’s a lesson for 2018 in here, and that is, simply-

Keep your eyes on the skies, mother fuckers, because you never know what poorly Chinese-manufactured object is going to come crashing down from space directly into your head.

-Because I Can.

Quote of the Day

“The Universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.”
–Neil deGrasse Tyson