site.btaDefence Minister Says Army Is on Alert in Case Tiangong-1 Debris Fall in Bulgaria

Sofia, March 30 (BTA) - Chemical defence units of the Bulgarian Armed Forces have been alerted and are ready to react if pieces of China's first space station, Tiangong-1, fall on Bulgarian territory these days, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Krassimir Karakachanov told reporters on Friday.

The space station passes over Bulgaria for 15-20 seconds every 89 minutes and the chance of debris hitting this country is 0.01 per cent. If this happens, people should not touch the pieces, Karakachanov warned.

The falling Chinese space station Tiangong-1 is tumbling in orbit and may crash back to Earth early on April 1, experts say, as quoted by space.com.

Estimates for the crash of Tiangong-1 range between March 31 and April 1, with a focus of 1400 GMT on April 1, according to Aerospace Corp. The April 1 target comes with an error of 16 hours, so the spacecraft could potentially begin its fiery dive anytime between Saturday and Sunday afternoon. An analysis by the European Space Agency also supports that re-entry estimate.