Germany's Aerospace Center says a dead satellite has fallen into the atmosphere, but there is no information yet on whether any of its pieces have crashed to Earth.

The center said most parts of the car-sized research satellite were expected to burn up during re-entry, but up to 30 fragments weighing a total of nearly 2 tons could reach the ground – somewhere.

Agency spokesmen said there has been no information yet over which country or continent the satellite had entered the atmosphere.