Defunct Soviet spacecraft comes crashing down to Earth...somewhere
The European Space Agency says it was no longer able to track the object as the hours passed midnight, ET and confirms the spacecraft reentered Earth's atmosphere sometime around 2 a.m. ET.
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A spacecraft built like a tank that was supposed to study Venus has likely crashed back to Earth Saturday morning, decades after its Soviet-era launch.
Space agencies had tracked the defunct probe, known alternatively as Kosmos 482, Cosmos482 or 05919, and estimated on Friday it would reenter Earth's atmosphere in the overnight hours of Friday night into Saturday morning, Eastern Time.
The European Space Agency says it was no longer able to track the object as the hours passed midnight, ET and confirms the spacecraft reentered Earth's atmosphere sometime around 2 a.m. ET.
There are no reports yet of where the spacecraft may have landed, or if it even survived reentry. A map from European Union's Space Surveillance and Tracking site showed Kosmo 482's final orbit was on a path over the Atlantic Ocean, then over Europe and into southwestern Asia.
Map of the whole ground track for Kosmos482. Yellow lines: ground track before the centre of the re-entry window. Green lines: ground track after the centre of the re-entry window. Red: overflights inside European countries and overseas territories. Note: the possible re-entry locations lied anywhere along the yellow and green lines. The re-entry point was considered to be at an altitude of 80 km. (European Union SST / FOX Weather)
A 53-year journey in Earth's orbit after failed launch
Kosmos 482, also known as Cosmos482 or 05919, was a Venus-bound probe that launched atop a Russian Soyuz rocket on March 31, 1972. However, after reaching Earth orbit, the satellite failed to launch on a trajectory toward Venus.
Kosmos 482 then broke into four sections—two of which remained in Earth’s orbit for just 48 hours, and two larger pieces that have been circling Earth ever since. Part of the probe, with its half-ton titanium shell, has been in an elliptical Earth orbit for decades.
A decades-old Soviet spacecraft is expected to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere in the coming days. (Alexander Chernov / NASA)
NASA and European tracking groups had narrowed down the window when Kosmos 482 was expected to hit Earth. For weeks, the space agencies have been running models to see when – and where – the failed satellite would come down.
Because the probe was designed to withstand the immense heat within Venus’ atmosphere, it was possible that it would survive reentry and reach Earth’s surface. EU SST said the spacecraft, made with a titanium shell, "may survive and reach the ground almost intact."
Experts with Aerospace Corp's Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies (CORDS) said any one individual was more likely to be struck by lightning than injured by Cosmos482.
"If it remains intact all the way to the surface, we project a risk of 0.4 in 10,000 — which falls well within the current safety threshold," Aerospace wrote this week.