Space debris didn't pack much of a punch

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Space debris dubbed 'WTF,' entered Earth's atmosphere on Friday, but didn't cause a dramatic crash into the water as anticipated. (PHOTO CREDIT: INTERNATIONAL ASTRONOMY CENTER)

Space debris dubbed 'WTF' made its anticipated arrival into Earth's atmosphere on Friday. What it didn't do was crash land in any dramatic fashion. 

NASA was keeping a close eye on the debris and the coast of Sri Lanka where it was expected to land.

It appears the debris, likely a rocket booster or fuel tank, disintegrated after entering Earth's atmosphere.

The International Astronomical Center (IAC) and the United Arab Emirates Space Agency released video of WTF as it made its arrival:

 

Whatever was left of WT1190F (its official name) was expected to fall into the ocean about 100 km off the southern coast of Sri Lanka.

But there there were no reports of a bright crash down which had been a possibility.

“The object is quite small, at most a couple of metres in diameter, and a significant fraction if not all of it can be expected to completely burn up in the atmosphere,” says Tim Flohrer, from European Space Agency’s Space Debris Office.

'WTF' was was discovered on Oct. 3 at the Catalina Sky Survey.