Tiangong 1 Target Spacecraft Returned to Earth

China Manned Space Agency announced on April 2 that the Tiangong 1 target spacecraft reentered the Earth’s atmosphere around 08:15 Beijing time on April 2 and came down in the middle of the South Pacific. Most parts were burned up during the reentry process.

Tiangong 1 was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and launched on September 29 in 2011. It conducted 6 rendezvous and dockings with Shenzhou 8, 9 and 10 spaceships successively,completing all preset tasks and contributing considerably to China’s manned space progress. It terminated its data service on March 16, 2016 and entered an orbital decay period. During its operation, Tiangong 1 demonstrated auto and manual controlled rendezvous and docking technology, making China the third country in the world to master the technology independently. The fulfillment of the Tiangong 1 mission marks the successful completion of the first phase of the second step in the “Three Steps”space strategy of China. It accumulated considerable experience for the successful launch of China’s first real space lab Tiangong 2.