CHARLOTTE, NC — A defunct and reportedly out-of-control Chinese satellite is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere sometime this weekend.
China's first space station - the Tiangong-1 - was launched in 2011. It weighs 8 and a half tons and is about the size of a school bus.
It was initially an experiment for future launches of China's space program, but they lost control of it in 2016.
Now, it's spiraling towards earth and is expected to crash into the atmosphere this weekend - most likely Easter Sunday.
Most of it will burn up, but scientists say 10 to 40 percent of it will survive reentry. The question now is where.
"This is just the way these things work. We don't know exactly where it will be, but we can say where it won't be," explained William Ailor, an Aerospace Fellow with The Aerospace Corp.
The areas where debris could land include most of the United States, China, Africa, southern Europe, Australia, and South America.
It's not uncommon for debris from satellites or space launches to re-enter the atmosphere. It happens every few months. But, the chances of you getting hit are less than one in a trillion.
Cox Media Group
