CosmOnline | The online manifestation of MetroCosm. Space Shuttle Discovery - 360VR Images. German Satellite Fell to Earth Over Indian Ocean's Bay of Bengal | ROSAT & German Roentgen Satellite | Space Junk & Orbital Debris. An old German satellite most likely met a watery grave during its weekend plunge to Earth, a fall from space that ended over the Bay of Bengal in the northeast Indian Ocean, German space agency officials say. The 21-year-old Roentgen Satellite, or ROSAT, re-entered Earth's atmosphere on Saturday (Oct. 22) at 9:50 p.m.
EDT (0150 GMT Sunday, Oct. 23). It is not currently known whether any fragments of the 2.7-ton satellite reached Earth's surface after its fiery trip through the atmosphere, officials at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) said. The debris was expected to fall over a 50-mile (80-kilometer) track of the Earth's surface. "With the re-entry of ROSAT, one of the most successful German scientific space missions has been brought to its ultimate conclusion," Johann-Dietrich Wörner, chairman of the German Aerospace Center's Executive Board, said in a statement. Artist's impression of the ROSAT satellite in space.Credit: German Aerospace Center. Hubble Heritage Gallery of Images.
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