Tiangong-1 spacelabs to re-enter Earth's atmosphere on April 2

China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) announced China's Tiangong-1 spacelabs will reenter Earth's atmosphere on April 2. Tiangong-1 orbits at an average altitude of 167.6 kilometers on Sunday and most will burn in the atmosphere and are very unlikely to cause damage to the ground.

Tiangong-1 weighs about 8 tons or is much smaller than the 80-tons Skylab and 140-tons Mir. Chinese officials say Tiangong-1 will not likely affect flight activity or cause damage to the ground. The re-entry process is usually divided into three phases where the first phase is the atmospheric pull will tear the solar arrays, antennas, and other exits at an altitude of about 100 kilometers.

As it continues to fall, the main structure of the spacecraft will burn or explode with increasing friction and heat. It will usually split at an altitude of about 80 kilometers. Fragments will continue to burn and most will be lost in the air. Only a small amount of debris will reach the ground and will float at a very slow speed due to the small mass.

Tiangong-1 was launched on 29 September 2011 and ended service in March 2016 after completing the mission. The module has anchored with Shenzhou-8, Shenzhou-9, and Shenzhou-10 in performing a series of tasks and made important contributions to China's manned space.