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Falling satellite re-enters -- but where?
11/11/2013 2:05:38 AM
- NEW: Details on where the satellite landed have yet been reported
- The GOCE satellite's orbit has been decaying since it ran out of fuel in late October
- The satellite was launched in 2009 to map variations in Earth's gravity
(CNN) -- A 2,000-pound European satellite re-entered Earth's atmosphere early Monday, but there were no immediate details on its landing, controllers reported.
The Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer -- a European Space Agency satellite known shorthand as GOCE -- was barely a dozen miles above the scientifically recognized edge of space as its orbit decayed, the ESA announced shortly before midnight Sunday (6 p.m. ET).
At 2:45 a.m. (8:45 p.m. ET), the agency reported its re-entry, adding "details on where and when it landed will soon be communicated."
The 5-meter (16-foot) satellite was launched in 2009 to map variations in the Earth's gravity in 3-D, provide ocean circulation patterns and make other measurements.
Powered by solar panels and not-your-average lithium-ion battery, it lasted more than three times its expected lifespan before running out of juice on October 21.
In March 2011, the ESA added another role -- as the "first seismometer in orbit" -- when GOCE detected sound waves from the massive earthquake that struck Japan.
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