space station burns up over South Pacific:China

China’s Tiangong-1 space station re-entered the earth’s atmosphere and burnt up over the middle of the South Pacific on Monday, state media reported.

The craft re-entered the atmosphere around 8:15 a.m. Beijing time (5:45 a.m. IST) and the “vast majority” of it had burnt up upon re-entry, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The 10.4-metre-long (34.1-foot) Tiangong-1, or “Heavenly Palace 1”, was launched in 2011 to carry out docking and orbit experiments as part of China’s ambitious space program, which aims to place a permanent station in orbit by 2023.

It was originally planned to be decommissioned in 2013 but its mission was repeatedly extended.