A Chinese space lab could plummet back to earth as early as Saturday, authorities say, in a fiery end to one of the country's highest profile space projects.
The 40-foot long Tiangong-1 or "Heavenly Palace," is expected to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere between March 31 and April 1, according to the latest update from the European Space Agency.
The China Manned Space Engineering Office places the date of reentry a little later, between April 1 and April 2. Earlier estimates put the date as late as April 4.
Scientists have emphasized the danger of being hit by falling debris is tiny, as low as one in 1 trillion, as the structure is likely to burn up in the atmosphere during reentry.
"There is no need for people to worry about its re-entry into the atmosphere," an article by the China Manned Space Engineering Office published on state media said.
"It won't crash to the Earth fiercely, as in sci-fi movie scenarios, but will look more like a shower of meteors."
The Tiangong-1 was launched in September 2011 as a prototype for China's ultimate space goal: a permanent space station which is expected to launch around 2022.
But the Chinese government told the United Nations in May 2017 their space lab had "ceased functioning" in March 2016, without saying exactly why.
As of Thursday, the space lab is orbiting the Earth at a height of 196.4 kilometers (122 miles).
Although the incident has been embarrassing for the China's space program, it hasn't delayed its progress. In September 2016 the Tiangong-2 space lab was successfully launched and put into orbit.
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