The satellite ran out of fuel Oct. 21 and had been steadily losing altitude since, tugged by Earth\’s gravity.
The 1.2-ton GOCE satellite is small in comparison to other spacecraft that recently crashed back into the atmosphere.
In January 2012, Russia\’s failed 14-ton Phobos-Grunt Mars probe returned. In 2011, NASA\’s 6.5-ton Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite and Germany\’s 2.4-ton X-ray ROSAT telescope re-entered the atmosphere.