German agency: satellite enters Earth's atmosphere

The German space agency says a decommissioned German satellite entered the Earth's atmosphere between 1:45 and 2:15 UTC on Sunday.

The agency is checking whether debris from the X ray observation satellite ROSAT hit the earth's surface.

Earlier, Japan's science ministry said the satellite may have passed over the country from the southwest to northeast at around 0:30 UTC on Sunday.

The German agency said earlier that 1.7 tons, or about two-thirds of the satellite, may break into about 30 pieces upon re-entry, with some of them expected to hit the Earth.

Sunday, October 23, 2011 12:52 +0900 (JST)