A spacecraft from the Soviet era re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on Saturday after remaining in orbit for over fifty years since failing a launch to Venus. Both the Russian Space Agency and the European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking confirmed the descent. According to Russian reports, the spacecraft fell over the Indian Ocean; however, some experts debated the exact location. The European Space Agency’s space debris office also monitored the spacecraft’s final descent after it failed to be detected by a German radar station.
The extent of any surviving pieces from the half-ton spacecraft remains unknown. Experts had previously suggested that some parts, or perhaps the entire spacecraft, might withstand re-entry due to its robust design meant for enduring a landing on Venus, the hottest planet in our solar system. Thankfully, scientists reassured the public that the likelihood of the debris hitting someone was extremely low.
Launched by the Soviet Union in 1972, the spacecraft, named Kosmos 482, was part of a series of missions intended for Venus. Due to a rocket malfunction, it was left orbiting Earth instead. Most parts of the spacecraft returned to Earth within a decade of the failed mission. The final piece to succumb to Earth’s gravitational pull was the spherical lander, approximately 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter, and protected by a titanium casing, with a weight exceeding 1,000 pounds (495 kilograms).
In accordance with a United Nations treaty, any remnants of the spacecraft that survived will be claimed by Russia. Predicting the exact time and location of the spacecraft’s descent proved challenging for scientists, military experts, and other observers, primarily due to varying solar activity and the spacecraft’s deteriorating state after spending so long in space.
The uncertainty about the precise impact site of the spacecraft left some observers feeling unfulfilled. Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek remarked, “If it was over the Indian Ocean, only the whales saw it,” expressing the sentiments of many on this mystery.
As of Saturday afternoon, neither the U.S. Space Command nor any other authority had formally confirmed the spacecraft’s fall, as analyses of orbital data were still underway. Regularly, the U.S. Space Command monitors numerous re-entries each month. Kosmos 482 garnered special interest from government and private space observers because it had a higher-than-usual chance of surviving re-entry. Its uncontrolled entry meant it wasn’t directed by flight controllers to vast waters like the Pacific Ocean, which is a common destination for spacecraft and satellite debris.