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Discarded battery block: Experts assessed the danger posed as low
Photo: dpa
The discarded battery pack from the ISS space station flew over Germany.
At 7:21 p.m., the package flew from the west at an altitude of 139 kilometers over the center of Germany, said the Bundeswehr's space situation center in Uedem, Lower Rhine.
According to further information from the Space Situation Center, there will be no further overflight over Germany.
»According to our calculations, the package falls into the Pacific at 8:17 p.m.
The all-clear for Germany," the experts announced via the platform X (formerly Twitter).
Battery pack the size of a car
The object is a pallet containing nine disused batteries from the International Space Station (ISS).
The platform with battery packs is about the size of a car and weighs around 2.6 tons.
It was detached from the ISS in March 2021 - with the aim of later burning up in the atmosphere.
According to the US space agency NASA, an average of one known piece has fallen to Earth per day over the past 50 years.
So far, no serious injuries or significant property damage have been reported as a result.
Several organizations, including the Federal Ministry of Economics responsible for space travel and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), had already informed about the battery pack on Thursday.
It was repeatedly emphasized that a threat to Germany was very unlikely.
lph/dpa