Tiangong I space laboratory bids fiery farewell

China's first space laboratory, Tiangong I, bade farewell on Monday morning as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere before breaking apart in a fireball over the South Pacific Ocean.

In a statement posted online, the China Manned Space Agency said the results of analysis and tracking by the Beijing Aerospace Control Center and other Chinese space organizations showed that re-entry took place at 8:15 am and that most of the spacecraft burned up in the process.

Remnants may have crashed somewhere in the central part of the South Pacific, the agency said, without elaborating.