{"id":97402,"date":"2018-03-28T16:47:41","date_gmt":"2018-03-28T20:47:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=97402"},"modified":"2018-03-28T16:50:16","modified_gmt":"2018-03-28T20:50:16","slug":"chinese-space-station-targeting-michigan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=97402","title":{"rendered":"Falling Chinese space station targeting Michigan?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"module-position-Qtg9NUtDh-E\" class=\"story-asset video-asset\">\n<div class=\"ui-video-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"ui-video-controls story-video inline-story-video priority\">\n<h1 class=\"asset-headline speakable-headline\">Is Chinese space station falling toward Michigan? Chances minuscule<\/h1>\n<p><!--more-->Robert Allen, Detroit Free Press<\/p>\n<p class=\"video-desc\">Michigan State new assistant coaches Chuck Bullough, Paul Haynes and Don Treadwell discuss their transitions back to the Spartans&#8217; staff. Recorded Tuesday, March 27.<span class=\"credit\">Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"module-position-Qtg9NUtofTA\" class=\"story-asset story-metadata-asset\">\n<div class=\"article-metadata-wrap\">\n<section id=\"module-position-Qtg9NUbql90\" class=\"storymetadata-bucket expandable-photo-module story-expandable-photo-module\">\n<aside class=\"single-photo expandable-collapsed\">\n<div class=\"image-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"expand-img-horiz\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/29b0b0fb4f0d1bfc68e201553710921cac5f3d50\/c=0-0-500-375&amp;r=x404&amp;c=534x401\/local\/-\/media\/2015\/10\/15\/Brevard\/B9319291034Z.1_20151015172857_000_GNNC8KRQH.1-0.jpg\" alt=\"-tiangong-1.jpg_20120119.jpg\" data-mycapture-src=\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2015\/10\/15\/Brevard\/B9319291034Z.1_20151015172857_000_GNNC8KRQH.1-0.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/3d5569507733ca056af5edaf0a2a8036c559fb13\/r=500x375\/local\/-\/media\/2015\/10\/15\/Brevard\/B9319291034Z.1_20151015172857_000_GNNC8KRQH.1-0.jpg\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"image-credit-wrap\"><span class=\"js-caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"credit\">(Photo: FLORIDA TODAY FILE)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"module-position-Qtg9NUtPbVM\" class=\"story-asset inline-share-tools-asset\">\n<div class=\"inline-share-tools asset-inline-share-tools asset-inline-share-tools-top\"><span class=\"inline-share-btn inline-share-btn-facebook\" data-share-method=\"facebook\" data-uotrack=\"InlineShareFacebookBtn\"><span class=\"inline-share-btn-label inline-share-btn-label-facebook\">CONNECT<\/span><\/span><a class=\"inline-share-btn inline-share-btn-twitter\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=http%3A\/\/on.freep.com\/2IlfSbP&amp;text=Is%20Chinese%20space%20station%20falling%20toward%20Michigan%3F%20Chances%20minuscule&amp;via=freep\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-share-method=\"twitter\" data-uotrack=\"InlineShareTwitterLink\" data-popup-width=\"550\" data-popup-height=\"450\" data-popup=\"\"><span class=\"inline-share-btn-label inline-share-btn-label-twitter\">TWEET<\/span><\/a><a class=\"inline-share-btn inline-share-btn-linkedin\" href=\"http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=http%3A\/\/on.freep.com\/2IlfSbP&amp;mini=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-share-method=\"linkedin\" data-popup-width=\"600\" data-popup-height=\"455\" data-uotrack=\"UtilityBarFlyoutLinkedInLink\" data-popup=\"\"><span class=\"inline-share-btn-label inline-share-btn-label-linkedin\">LINKEDIN<\/span><\/a><span class=\"inline-share-btn inline-share-btn-comments\" data-share-method=\"comments\" data-uotrack=\"InlineShareCommentsBtn\"><span class=\"inline-share-count inline-share-count-comments\">\u00a02<\/span><span class=\"inline-share-btn-label inline-share-btn-label-comments\">COMMENT<\/span><\/span><span class=\"inline-share-btn inline-share-btn-email\" data-share-method=\"email\" data-uotrack=\"InlineShareEmailBtn\"><span class=\"inline-share-btn-label inline-share-btn-label-email\">EMAIL<\/span><\/span><span class=\"inline-share-btn inline-share-btn-more\" data-share-method=\"facebook\" data-uotrack=\"InlineShareMoreBtn\"><span class=\"inline-share-btn-label inline-share-btn-label-more\">MORE<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">A 9.4-ton, Chinese space station is falling to Earth.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">And in recent headlines across the web, the odds appear\u00a0grim for Michigan (spoiler: Don&#8217;t worry).<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/science\/2018\/03\/11\/chinese-satellite-filled-with-corrosive-fuel-could-hit-lower-michigan.html\">Chinese satellite filled with corrosive fuel could hit lower Michigan<\/a>,&#8221; reports Fox News.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-5486985\/Lower-Michigan-crash-site-falling-Chinese-space-station.html\">Will the free-falling 8.5 ton Chinese space station crash into lower Michigan? Experts say that the state falls among &#8216;the highest probability,&#8217;<\/a>\u00a0&#8221; reports the Daily Mail (United Kingdom).<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/debris%20from%20falling%20chinese%20space%20station%20could%20land%20in%20southern%20michigan\/\">&#8220;Debris from falling Chinese space station could land in southern Michigan,&#8221;<\/a>\u00a0reports Channel 4 (WDIV-TV).<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In fact, the stories all refer to a non-frightening<a href=\"http:\/\/www.aerospace.org\/cords\/reentry-predictions\/tiangong-1-reentry\/\">\u00a0report from Aerospace Corporation<\/a>\u00a0about the 34-foot-by-11 foot Tiangong-1,\u00a0the remains of which might not even be intact once it re-enters Earth&#8217;s atmosphere sometime in the next several weeks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;There is a chance that a small amount of Tiangong-1 debris may survive re-entry and impact the ground,&#8221; according to Aerospace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">To illustrate the range of possible crash locations, the Aerospace website illustrates a wide belt, including most of the habitable parts of Earth \u2014 that is, every continent but Antarctica. Lower Michigan, along with the same latitude across\u00a0the U.S., Europe and Asia, is in one of two narrower\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.aerospace.org\/cords\/reentry-predictions\/tiangong-1-reentry\/\">zones of higher probability.<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">China&#39;s Tiangong-1 is predicted to reenter Earth&#39;s atmosphere in early April 2018 \u00b1 1 week. There is a chance that a small amount of Tiangong-1 debris may survive the uncontrolled reentry and impact the ground (depicted in the yellow and green area). <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DcPhLGKTcq\">https:\/\/t.co\/DcPhLGKTcq<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/v0vuBxDQ73\">pic.twitter.com\/v0vuBxDQ73<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; I am Legend (@Grannytologist) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Grannytologist\/status\/967191946623160320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 24, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;When considering the worst-case location (yellow regions of the map), the probability that a specific person (i.e., you) will be struck by Tiangong-1 debris is about 1 million times smaller than the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot,&#8221; according to Aerospace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Aerospace\u00a0is a government contractor that provides research, development, and advisory services to\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.aerospace.org\/about-us\/\">national-security space<\/a>\u00a0programs. The Free Press on Monday sought official government sources to confirm how\u00a0likely Michigan is to get hit by the debris. NORAD referred a query\u00a0to U.S. Space Command and U.S. Strategic Command, both of which didn&#8217;t immediately respond.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">NASA said to ask China. The Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., and consulate in Chicago didn&#8217;t immediately respond.<span style=\"font-size: 12px;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The space station, China&#8217;s first, was launched in September 2011 and offered sleeping accommodations for two astronauts before it began its uncontrolled re-entry, according to Aerospace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Illustrating how difficult it is to predict where the space station will land, a Massachusetts-based astronomer\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/planet4589\/status\/971463955167301632\">tweeted that a 1-hour<\/a>\u00a0&#8220;error in our guessed re-entry time corresponds to (a 17,000-mile) error in the re-entry position,&#8221; according to\u00a0the verified account for Jonathan McDowell\u00a0at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As Tiangong descends, confusion remains widespread about what we can predict about its reentry. Remember that a 1 hour error in our guessed reentry time corresponds to an 27000 km (17000 mile) error in the reentry position. And currently our estimate has a 2 week uncertainty<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jonathan McDowell (@planet4589) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/planet4589\/status\/971463955167301632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 7, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">He tweeted Saturday that the latest predictions indicate the space station landing sometime between late March and early April.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Re-entry is difficult to predict because of such factors as the variation in density of the upper layers of the atmosphere, uncertainties about the orientation of the spacecraft over time and\u00a0uncertainties of its\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.aerospace.org\/cords\/reentry-predictions\/tiangong-1-reentry\/\">exact location and speed<\/a>, according to Aerospace.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The closer it gets,\u00a0locations most likely to be hit with debris will become clearer, said\u00a0Matthew Linke, who is planetarium director with the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History Planetarium in Ann Arbor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;The nice thing, of course, is nothing really big is going to come down,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">If the Chinese spacecraft\u00a0comes through the atmosphere\u00a0over Michigan, it may be visible as a bright streak\u00a0in the sky as it heats up on re-entry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;We dropped ours on Australia, so we have nothing to complain about,&#8221; Linke said, referring to Skylab, a U.S. space station that scattered over the country and Indian Ocean as it arrived on July 11, 1979. &#8220;It probably hit a wallaby\u00a0or something, but not much else.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-Qtg9NUs6jOI\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<h5 class=\"wide single-photo\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/5a0b0a3d90cb5b03b5dca98aa9387275a24e4ec7\/c=44-0-536-369&amp;r=x408&amp;c=540x405\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/02\/17\/USATODAY\/usatsports\/MotleyFool-TMOT-1fad5614-earth_large.jpg\" alt=\"The Earth is seen from space.\" width=\"540\" height=\"405\" data-mycapture-src=\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2018\/02\/17\/USATODAY\/usatsports\/MotleyFool-TMOT-1fad5614-earth_large.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/d32db2135ae34aac89ba8857c0095c5d78ab7ec4\/r=500x318\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/02\/17\/USATODAY\/usatsports\/MotleyFool-TMOT-1fad5614-earth_large.jpg\" \/><br \/>\nThe Earth is seen from space.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Getty Images)<\/span><\/h5>\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\">\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/news\/local\/michigan\/2018\/03\/12\/chinese-space-station-michigan\/417022002\/\">http:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/news\/local\/michigan\/2018\/03\/12\/chinese-space-station-michigan\/417022002\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is Chinese space station falling toward Michigan? Chances minuscule<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=97402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97402\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=97402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=97402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=97402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}