The National Aeronautics and Space Agency (LAPAN) said China's Tiangong-1 spacecraft will enter Earth's atmosphere and could fall in the Indonesian territory. Then, where the object will land?
For now, according to the Head of LAPAN Thomas Djamaluddin, LAPAN itself has not known the details of where exactly the position of Tiangong-1 will fall.this can not be ascertained because the atmospheric resistance factor can not yet be accurately calculated.
"Because of the inclination (orbital plane) of Tiangong-1 42.8 degrees, then the region with the potential to fall apart is the region on earth between 43 degrees north latitude to 43 degrees south latitude," said Thomas
Furthermore, Thomas says the speed of falling a space object depends on atmospheric density.while, atmospheric densities are influenced by the activity of the Sun and the Earth's magnetic field. Variations in the activity of the Sun that cause the range of uncertainty when the fall is quite large.
"The level of accuracy will increase with the closer the fall time.until mid-March, the forecast of time falls around April, with the uncertainty of +/- 7 days, "he said.
Tiangong-1 which is a space station belonging to Bamboo Curtain country was first launched on September 29, 2011 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, China.during its operational period, Tiangong-1 contributed to space research for China.
The vehicle weighs 8.5 tons of tubular shape with a length of 10.4 meters 3.4 meters in diameter, equipped with a stretch of solar panels was once occupied by Chinese astronauts.at that time, Tiangong-1 orbits above an altitude of 350 kilometers from the Earth's surface.
However, China's space authorities reported that Tiangong-1 was damaged and out of control since March 16, 2016. The space station will experience a re-entry phase or re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.and is expected around April 2018, Tiangong-1 will hit Earth.
Thomas said that due to atmospheric barriers, Tiangong-1 will experience a decrease in altitude. From the original at an altitude of 350 kilometers, in mid-March the height has reached 250 kilometers.
"The closer we get to the Earth, the more dense the atmosphere will be, the more rapid the rate of decline will be.if the height has reached about 120 kilometers, the rides are already considered falling. At a height of 120 km, the atmosphere is dense enough to burn and break the object. In just a matter of minutes, the fractions will fall along the path, "said Thomas was quoted by detikINET on his personal blog page, Sunday (18/3/2018).