A Chinese satellite may be free-wheeling through space, and could make an uncontrolled re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

China's first ever space station - Tiangong-1 - was launched in 2011 and was due to be brought down into the ocean in a controlled crash.

But it has been reported that China has now lost control of it, and one amateur astronomer believes it could come down at any moment.

If it re-enters Earth's atmosphere, it is likely to explode into pieces of molten metal as a result of the intense heat produced.


Amateur satellite tracker Thomas Dorman told Space.com that he has spotted that a problem has developed with Tiangong-1.

He has been tracking the satellite's flyovers using telescopes and video cameras.

He said: "If I am right, China will wait until the last minute to let the world know it has a problem with their space station.

"It could be a real bad day if pieces of this came down in a populated area, but odds are it will land in the ocean or in an unpopulated area."

Dean Cheng, a senior research fellow at the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation, said the Chinese authorities' silence could mean it is already in freefall.

He told the website: "That would seem to suggest that it's not being deorbited under control. That's the implication."

But senior research astrodynamicist TS Kelso said "it may be much ado about nothing".

"I guess I would want to see some very specific data, notionally covering a period where Tiangong-1 was supposed to be stable, to show that it is now uncontrolled, before reading too much more into this."

Taingong-1, which means Heavenly Palace in English, was supposed to be the first step towards creating a larger space complex in Earth's orbit by 2020.