SPACE

Falling to Earth: Major pieces of space debris come tumbling down

Rob Landers
The Peregrine Lunar Lander is expected to fall back to Earth following an irreparable fuel leak. But it isn't the first or largest object to fall back to Earth.
The Peregrine Lunar Lander is expected to fall back to Earth following an irreparable fuel leak. But it isn't the first or largest object to fall back to Earth.
Courtesy Of Astrobotic
Thousands of dead satellites are currently orbiting Earth, as well as tens of thousands of fragments of space debris. According to the European Space Agency, 100 tons of debris fall to Earth each year either in our oceans or remote uninhabited areas of the planet.
Thousands of dead satellites are currently orbiting Earth, as well as tens of thousands of fragments of space debris. According to the European Space Agency, 100 tons of debris fall to Earth each year either in our oceans or remote uninhabited areas of the planet.
ESA/ID&Sense/ONiRiXEL, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
While smaller fragments of debris are vaporized by the heat of atmospheric re-entry, larger pieces survive the fall. This picture taken in May 2014 shows space debris from a Russian rocket that fell in Qiqihar, northeast China's Heilongjiang province.
While smaller fragments of debris are vaporized by the heat of atmospheric re-entry, larger pieces survive the fall. This picture taken in May 2014 shows space debris from a Russian rocket that fell in Qiqihar, northeast China's Heilongjiang province.
STR/AFP Via Getty Images
And there are no guarantees of where debris will fall. This 2018 photos show a flash over Reno, Nevada that the National Weather Service sited was likely space debris.
And there are no guarantees of where debris will fall. This 2018 photos show a flash over Reno, Nevada that the National Weather Service sited was likely space debris.
Alert Tahoe
Five years after the last crew departed, NASA's Skylab's orbit eventually decayed and it disintegrated in the atmosphere on July 11, 1979, scattering debris across the Indian Ocean and Western Australia.
Five years after the last crew departed, NASA's Skylab's orbit eventually decayed and it disintegrated in the atmosphere on July 11, 1979, scattering debris across the Indian Ocean and Western Australia.
Telegram & Gazette
A 1996 photo shows the Russian Mir space station orbiting the Earth. Russian space officials brought the 130-ton Mir down in a controlled descent. Some 25 tons of debris survived re-entry were guided to the South Pacific.
A 1996 photo shows the Russian Mir space station orbiting the Earth. Russian space officials brought the 130-ton Mir down in a controlled descent. Some 25 tons of debris survived re-entry were guided to the South Pacific.
Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
China's falling space station Tiangong-1 can be seen in this radar image from the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques near Bonn, Germany. The outpost, about the size of a school bus, scattered debris over the southern Pacific Ocean.
China's falling space station Tiangong-1 can be seen in this radar image from the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques near Bonn, Germany. The outpost, about the size of a school bus, scattered debris over the southern Pacific Ocean.
Associated Press
Most recently Tiangong-1, the Chinese space station seen in this artist's depiction, fell back to Earth on April 1, 2018.
Most recently Tiangong-1, the Chinese space station seen in this artist's depiction, fell back to Earth on April 1, 2018.
Courtesy Aerospace Corp., TNS