A Soviet spacecraft, known as Kosmos 482, has re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere over 50 years after its failed launch to Venus. This uncontrolled descent was confirmed by both the Russian Space Agency and the European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking. Although Russian officials asserted it fell into the Indian Ocean, some experts expressed uncertainty regarding the exact location. Tracking efforts by the European Space Agency also noted the spacecraft’s demise after it failed to show up on a German radar.
The fate of the half-tonne spacecraft post-descent remains unclear, though experts suggested that parts of it could have survived, given that it was designed to endure an impact on Venus, the hottest planet in the solar system. The likelihood of anyone being harmed by debris from the spacecraft is considered extremely low.
Launched in 1972, Kosmos 482 was initially intended to be part of a series of missions to Venus, but a rocket failure left it trapped in Earth’s orbit. Most of the spacecraft had already fallen back to Earth within a decade of its launch. The lander, measuring about one metre in diameter and encased in titanium, was the last component to make its descent.
Any wreckage that may have survived will legally belong to Russia, as per a United Nations treaty. Despite significant monitoring and anticipation, scientists and military experts could not predict exactly when or where the spacecraft would crash. Factors such as solar activity and the spacecraft’s long duration in space further complicated the situation. This uncertainty left some observers disappointed, with Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek commenting that if the re-entry occurred over the Indian Ocean, “only the whales saw it.”
As of the latest updates, the US Space Command had not yet confirmed the spacecraft’s re-entry, as they were still analysing data from orbital observations. Monitoring of such events is routine for the US Space Command, which tracks numerous re-entries each month. Kosmos 482 received special attention due to its potential to survive the re-entry process and because it entered the atmosphere without guidance, differing from usual protocols that aim to direct falling satellites towards unpopulated oceanic areas.