Chances of Tiangong-1 crashing into Malaysia very low: Angkasa

PETALING JAYA: The possibility of China's space station, Tiangong-1, crashing into Malaysia is very low, said the National Space Agency (Angkasa) director-general Dr Noordin Ahmad.
He said based on calculations, the width of the area between latitudes of 43 degrees North to 43 degrees South involves many other countries, namely Singapore, Australia, the United States and China.
"Apart from Malaysia, specifically Kuala Lumpur, this area encompasses Singapore (1.35 degrees North), Sydney, Australia (33.86 degrees South), Florida, America (27.66 degrees North) and Beijing, China (39.90 degrees North)," he explained.
Taking into account the size of KL, which is 243.65 square km, the likelihood of the city being the crash site of debris is very small, with an approximate chance of only 0.0000699%.
"The likelihood for (all of) Malaysia is only 0.09%, after taking into account the overall area of 329,960.22 square km," he said.
Dr Noordin cited information from data.gov.my and the Information Department.
According to China's note dated at May 4, 2017, with the reference number AC. 105/1150 to the United Nations, most of the components from Tiangong-1 will be burnt and destroyed due to friction with the Earth's atmosphere.
The probability for debris to cause damage to Earth-bound activities, including flights, is very low.
China also informed that they will monitor, forecast and predict time of re-entry.
Further information will be obtained from the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee. Orbital status, as well as any relevant information, will be published on http://www.cmse.gov.cn/.
The final prediction with regards to the time and place of Tiangong-1's crash will be provided by China for the attention of the UN secretary-general and United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (Unoosa).
Agencies such as ESA, Nasa, Jaxa and CNSA, are also observing and monitoring the situation.