"On Sunday, 23 October 2011, between 1:45 UTC (3:45 CEST) and 2:15 UTC (4:15 CEST) the german ROentgen SATellite ROSAT has re-entered Earth's atmosphere. There is currently no confirmation if pieces of debris have reached Earth's surface." [23 October 2011, 02:45 UTC (04:45 CEST)] Watch a simulation, below, of ROSAT's re-entry in the video here, made by Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI). They posted it to their blog site:
According to AGI, "The largest single fragment will probably be the telescope’s mirror, which is very heat-resistant and may weigh up to 1.7 tons.” All areas under ROSAT’s orbit, which extends to 53 degrees northern and southern latitude, might be affected by its reentry. The German-owned and operated satellite was launched by NASA in 1990 and is credited with X-ray images of structures in the Milky Way and other galaxies. Because ROSAT doesn’t have a propulsion system on board, a controlled reentry at the end of its mission in 1999 wasn’t possible." More about ROSAT at AGI Blogs.
