The first prototype Space Station of China Tiangong-1 will crash on Earth in the late 2017 or at the beginning of 2018, the Guardian reported. An 18,752 pounds space station, 34 feet by 11 feet in size, was launched in 2011 for both manned and unmanned missions. China sent its first female astronauts, Liu Yang and Wang Yaping to Tiangong-1 in 2012.

Chinese space agency referred its space station as the "Heavenly Palace, " and it was launched with a hope to make China a superpower in space. An astrophysicist at Harward University, Jonathan McDowell was the first who told about Tiangong-1 crash in an interview with the Guardian on Friday.

Some parts of the station weighing 220 pounds would fall on Earth

In September 2016, Chinese officials already informed that the space station would fall to the Earth in 2017 or 2018 after speculating its activities for several months.The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has also notified the United Stations that they had no control over the station and would be carefully monitoring its final descent.

The station has been moving offset from its orbit, and recently it has entered the denser region of the atmosphere of Earth which increased its falling speed. Jonathan McDowell said that Tiangong-1 perigee is 186 miles below, CNBC reported.

He also said that "we probably won’t know better than six or seven hours, plus or minus, when it’s going to come down."

No clue where it will fall

Jonathan also said that a large part of the station is expected to burn during the fall, but some parts could reach land.

Scientists are not currently able to find the location where it will fall because the engineers have no control on the capsule and the slight changes in weather could move it from one continent to another. They also claimed that the crash poses no threat to people as it is likely to fall into the sea, according to the Independent.

In the crashes that happened before on Earth, there were no reports of any injuries.

Salyut 7 space station of the Soviet Union crashed on Earth in February 1991, after serving nine years in space in a low orbit of the Earth. It fell over Argentina and its debris spread over its city named Capitán Bermúdez.

The United States' first space station, a 170,000 pounds Skylab, crashed on Earth in 1979. It was launched in 1973 and completed 2,249 days in its orbit before it finally fell in Western Australia. It was the first space station launched and operated by NASA.
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