European satellite falls into South Atlantic

South Atlantic, Nov 12: The European Space Agency's

which was on its way to crash on

finally plunged into the South Atlantic, without causing any harm.

Almost 75% of it had already burned during its journey. There were wide spread fears about the satellite as none of the expert agencies could predict where and when it would fall.

The satellite, weighing a ton, entered the Earth's atmosphere at 4:16 pm, said ESA.

The satellite GOCE, was launched in 2009 to study the variations in the Earth's gravity. The data it sent helped scientists identify and create the first high quality map of the boundary between the Earth's crust and its mantle.

The satelite's mission ended in August 2011, but as it had fuel left, the mission was extended. Finally, in October 2013, the satellite ran out of fuel and began to descend to earth.

OneIndia News

(With agency inputs)