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NASA spacecraft linked to UFO sightings in Kiev burns up over Sahara Desert — statement

It is reported that the spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere over the Sahara Desert region

NEW YORK, April 20. /TASS/. NASA’s RHESSI spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over the Sahara Desert on Wednesday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Public Affairs Officer Robert Margetta said in a statement on Thursday.

"NASA’s retired Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at 8:21 p.m. EST on Wednesday, April 19," the statement reads.

According to the NASA spokesperson, the spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere over the Sahara Desert region. "NASA expected most of the spacecraft to burn up as it traveled through the atmosphere, but some components can survive re-entry. At this time, NASA has not received any reports of any damage or harm associated with the re-entry," the statement added.

Earlier, eyewitnesses told TASS that they saw three bright flashes in the sky over the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Later, Kiev city military administration head Sergey Popko said that the flashes might have been caused by a NASA satellite entering the atmosphere. A NASA spokesperson later dismissed the assumption, saying that none of the agency’s satellites had entered Earth's atmosphere on Wednesday.

NASA stated earlier that its RHESSI spacecraft was expected to de-orbit on April 19. The agency added that most of the 300-kg spacecraft would burn up in the atmosphere but some of its fragments might reach Earth’s surface. NASA experts viewed the risk of anyone suffering injuries as a result of the re-entry as very low.

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