Tiangong-1 Space Lab Will Fall to Earth Next Year, China Says

China's first-ever space lab will die a fiery death in Earth's atmosphere toward the end of next year, Chinese officials said. The 9.4-ton (8.5 metric tons) Tiangong-1 spacecraft is currently intact and orbiting Earth at an altitude of 230 miles (370 kilometers), according to Wu Ping, deputy director of China's Manned Space Engineering office. Tiangong-1 will likely fall back to Earth in the second half of 2017, and its demise shouldn't cause problems here on the ground, Wu said.