---
title: "Watch a Chinese Space Station Burn up in Earth’s Atmosphere"
description: "The Chinese space station Tiangong-2 incinerated as planned during its scheduled decommissioning on Friday. Now there's video footage of the event."
date: "2019-07-19"
modified: "2019-07-19"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/watch-chinese-space-station-burn-atmosphere"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "china"
  - "space"
  - "the digest"
  - "tiangong-2"
---

# Watch a Chinese Space Station Burn up in Earth’s Atmosphere

![The Chinese space station Tiangong-2 incinerated as planned during its scheduled decommissioning on Friday. Now there's video footage of the event.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/watch-chinese-space-station-burn-atmosphere.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image:  CGTN via YouTube/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Re-Entry

On Friday, the Chinese space station Tiangong-2 was spectacularly decommissioned — it was [set on a crash course](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-tiangong2-space-station>) with a remote patch of the Pacific Ocean called the "[Spacecraft Cemetery](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/deep-sea-graveyard-dead-spacecraft>)."

Tiangong-2 is no more, but we can re-live its final moments. The state-owned China Global Television Network [posted a YouTube video](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRuktzMFua8>) of the space station as it begins to incinerate while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRuktzMFua8

## Make A Wish

Most of the Chinese space station burnt up along the way, with some remaining fragments safely splashing down into the ocean.

Tiangong-2 was largely an experimental prototype outpost. Now that it's out of the way, China can work toward a more permanent presence in space with its [planned 2020 launch](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-announces-space-station-launch>) of a full-sized space station that will continue the country's space-based scientific research.

**More on Tiangong-2:** *[China's Tiangong-2 Space Station Will Fall out of the Sky Friday](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/china-tiangong2-space-station>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)