A Soviet spacecraft, Kosmos 482, launched in 1972 as part of the Venera program to study Venus, is believed to have crashed back to Earth early Saturday morning. The European Space Agency (ESA) tracked the craft’s uncontrolled descent and last detected it by radar over Germany, indicating that reentry had likely occurred, although no injuries or damage were reported.
Kosmos 482, which weighed 1,069 pounds and was about three feet wide, malfunctioned shortly after launch, causing its upper stage to become stuck in Earth orbit. Over 53 years, it circled the Earth in an increasingly elliptical path until it got close enough to re-enter the atmosphere. While falling space debris is common, with over 2,400 objects descending in 2022 alone, most burn up upon re-entry, with many impacting oceans rather than land.
Despite this, Kosmos 482 was designed to endure extreme conditions, intended for the harsh atmosphere of Venus, where temperatures reach up to 867 degrees Fahrenheit. This durability suggests it might have survived re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere. ESA officials noted that no human fatalities from space debris have ever been recorded, highlighting that the risk of injury from such events is extremely low—under 1 in 100 billion annually—compared to the likelihood of being struck by lightning.
On Friday, the U.S. Space Force predicted that the spacecraft would re-enter above the Pacific Ocean near Guam at 1:52 a.m. ET Saturday. The situation reflects the ongoing challenges and considerations surrounding space debris management, which has become increasingly relevant as more objects are launched into orbit.
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