A Japanese satellite that finished its mission in 1998 re-entered Earth's atmosphere at around 10:30 p.m. Monday, according to the National Space Development Agency of Japan.
NASDA officials said the JERS-1 satellite, known in Japan as Fuyo No. 1, apparently fell into the Atlantic Ocean near Antarctica.
Its re-entry had initially been expected at around 4:20 p.m., apparently due to an error in observation data supplied by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
It is the first Japanese satellite to fall back to Earth.
Two heat-resistant spherical tanks were made of titanium alloy, each weighing 7 kg and measuring 55 cm in diameter, were able to withstand frictional heat as the satellite re-entered the atmosphere, the agency said.
The JERS-1, formally known as the Japan Earth Resource Satellite, was launched in 1992 and was operational until 1998, searching for natural resources such as crude oil and observing areas such as the Amazon rain forests.