Latest from aerospace.org: 00:30 UTC +-1.7 hours. That's 5:30 pm
MST/PDT +- ~100 minutes.
Center of the predicted window is now off the coast of Chile. If, if it
keeps drifting later/eastward at the same rate, it'll end up in the
vicinity of Buenos Aires or in the south Atlantic.
On 4/1/2018 8:34 AM, Henry Vanderbilt wrote:
According to
http://www.aerospace.org/cords/reentry-predictions/tiangong-1-reentry/
as of a few minutes ago the reentry window for the defunct Chinese station has narrowed to +- 2.5 hours either side of ten after midnight UTC tonight.
That's 2:40 pm to 7:40 pm this afternoon/evening, MST (or PDT) (UTC-7).
The general trend over the past couple of days has been for the window to slide later, FWIW.
Looking at the ground track, the current projected middle of the window is way out over the Pacific. Alas for free local fireworks, the overall window comes nowhere near North America. Southern South America, much of Africa, Central and East Asia, yes. As for you Aussies, absent a major late change, no Skylab-Tiangong twofer. Oh well!
I notice that a bit less than one orbit after current projected mid-window, it'll be going right over the middle of China, which could make for a spectacular show for the people who paid for it.
Henry