Soviet spacecraft Kosmos 482 reentered Earth’s atmosphere on Saturday after 53 years in orbit, following a failed attempt to launch to Venus.
A Soviet-era spacecraft made its dramatic return to Earth on Saturday, more than half a century after its ill-fated mission to Venus. The European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking confirmed the uncontrolled reentry of Kosmos 482, which had been in orbit since its launch in 1972.
According to the European Space Agency’s space debris office, the spacecraft’s reentry was indicated by its absence from radar tracking over Germany. It was not immediately clear where the spacecraft reentered or how much, if any, of the half-ton vehicle survived the fiery descent.
Experts had warned that some or all of the spacecraft could crash to Earth, given its construction designed to withstand the extreme conditions on Venus, the hottest planet in the solar system. Despite the potential for debris to fall to the ground, scientists emphasized that the likelihood of anyone being struck by falling spacecraft was exceedingly low.
Kosmos 482 was part of a series of Soviet missions aimed at exploring Venus. However, this particular spacecraft never made it beyond Earth’s orbit due to a rocket malfunction shortly after its launch. Most of the spacecraft had already reentered the atmosphere within a decade of its failed mission, but the spherical lander, which measures approximately 3 feet (1 meter) across and weighs over 1,000 pounds (495 kilograms), was the last component to succumb to Earth’s gravity.
As the spacecraft spiraled downward, scientists and military experts monitored its trajectory but could not accurately predict the exact time or location of its reentry. The uncertainty was compounded by solar activity and the spacecraft’s deteriorating condition after decades in space.
As of Saturday morning, the U.S. Space Command had not yet confirmed the spacecraft’s demise, as it continued to collect and analyze data from orbit. The U.S. Space Command routinely tracks dozens of reentries each month, but Kosmos 482 garnered additional attention from both government and private space trackers due to its higher likelihood of surviving reentry.
Unlike many other pieces of space debris, Kosmos 482 was coming in uncontrolled, without any intervention from flight controllers. Typically, such controllers aim to direct old satellites and debris to fall into vast expanses of water, minimizing the risk to populated areas.
The return of Kosmos 482 serves as a reminder of the challenges and unpredictability associated with space debris, particularly as the number of satellites and other objects in orbit continues to grow.
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