An old Nasa satellite that studied the sun for more than a decade fell to Earth over the Sahara Desert, the space agency has reported.
Nasa officials said they have received no reports of damage or injury so far from the re-entry, which occurred in the early hours of the morning in Sudan.
Most of the 660lb (300kg) satellite, called Rhessi, was expected to burn up while plummeting through the atmosphere.
![This illustration provided by Nasa depicts the RHESSI (Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager) solar observation satellite](https://www.irishnews.com/resizer/v2/TL2NJLKXPRONVGDFALGZHVVMWI.jpg?auth=24d173fcbbc1085c369d3d5b69a22ceec1c22859a765c086a813508537ae65ef&width=800&height=618)
But experts anticipated some pieces would survive and slam into the ground.
Launched in 2002, Rhessi was turned off in 2018 following a communication problem.
Before falling silent, it studied solar flares and coronal mass ejections from the sun.
Rhessi stands for the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager.