5,000-pound European satellite burns up over Pacific Ocean after 30 years in orbit

Artist's illustration of ESA's ERS-2 satellite in Earth orbit. The spacecraft is expected to fall back to Earth in February 2024.

A defunct, 5,050-pound (2,290 kilograms) satellite has tumbled uncontrollably back to Earth after spending three decades in space. 

After slowly falling to Earth for more than 12 years, the European Space Agency's (ESA) ERS-2 satellite reentered Earth's atmosphere at 12:17 p.m. ET (5:17 p.m. GMT) on Wednesday, Feb. 21, burning up over a remote patch of the North Pacific Ocean roughly halfway between Alaska and Hawaii, according to ESA. No damage to property has been reported, and it is unclear if any debris survived the fiery plunge through the atmosphere.