Out-of-control European satellite the size of a RHINO is just hours away from hitting Earth - these are the potential impact zones where it could crash land

A dead European satellite the size of a rhino will come crashing back to Earth today – but officials insist it doesn't pose any danger to Earthlings. According to the European Space Agency, which launched the ERS-2 satellite nearly 30 years ago, it will reenter Earth's atmosphere at 15:49 GMT. The ERS-2 satellite was launched on April 21, 1995 from ESA's Guiana Space Centre near Kourou, French Guiana to study Earth's land surfaces, oceans and polar caps. Illustrated timeline of European Remote Sensing 2 satellite's mission provided by the ESA, which estimates it will reenter Earth's atmosphere at 11:14 GMT on Wednesday This was ERS-2's final image captured while above Rome, Italy, July 4, 2011. The ERS-2 satellite was launched back in April 1995 from ESA's Guiana Space Centre near Kourou, French Guiana ERS-2 was launched in 1995 following on from its sister satellite, ERS-1, which had been launched four years earlier.