Soviet spaceship Kosmos 482 just plunged onto the earth

Your support = more science, more stars, more wonders. Donate for Earthsky and be part of something larger.

The Soviet spaceship Kosmos 482 seems to have fallen onto the earth

The heat-resistant Soviet spacecraft Kosmos 482-Urzen for the Venus-Schien on Saturday morning, May 10, 2025, probably in the Indian Ocean. The craft was most recently discovered by Radar about Germany. The European Space Agency, which it had followed, said in its last update at the time of this letter:

Since the relegation casture was not discovered by Radar via Germany to the expected 07:32 UTC / 09:32 CEST PASS, it is most likely that the re -entry has already occurred.

Marco Langbroek from the Aerospace Faculty of TU Delft said:

Roscosmos has published a message about telegram in which she reinstated near the Indian Ocean near 6:24 UTC. This reasonably corresponds to our model.

In the meantime, space monitoring and persecution of the European Union (EU SST) published a map that shows the last orbit that also indicates this

No injuries or damage were reported.

What was Kosmos 482?

After a successful start on March 31, 1972 for a temporary orbit around the earth, a problem with a timer has a motor fire prematurely. The spaceship was therefore unable to leave the orbit of our planet. It has been circling the earth for 53 years and now it has come home.

Tens of thousands of objects follow the earth orbit. And space debris sometimes falls back onto the earth. But Kosmos 482 carried an interesting story with it. It was once found for Venus. It was an extremely durable vehicle that withstand the high temperatures and the extremely high atmospheric pressure (about 90 -larger than the earth on the surface) of Venus, the planet inwards. The case of this craft was not unexpected. However, the exact time and the exact place of the fall were extremely difficult to determine because the re -entry was uncontrolled. The current orbit indicated that it should be between 52 degrees north and 52 degrees south.

And we know that about 90% of the earth's population live in this zone.

Of course, our planet is largely covered with ocean. And that meant the likelihood that the spaceship would penetrate again. Water recovery is still an option. It can never be found on land.

Dave Adalian von Earthsky spoke to the Impact Hazards expert Dr. Vishnu Reddy from the University of Arizona about Kosmos 482 this week. You can find your interview below. Fascinating!

Was there a risk?

Yes, there was a risk with the re -entry of the spacecraft. Although the likelihood that it would occur over land or a populated area, was small, the impractical detail with Kosmos 482 was that it was a probe that was similar to the Venera Mission of Landers. They were built to withstand acceleration, high pressure and extreme heat in the incredibly dense atmosphere of Venus. Most of the landing, even if not intact, could have reached the surface of our planet (or fell into the ocean).

The craft is about 1 meter (1 meter). But it's difficult; It weighs about £ 1,100 (495 kilograms). And according to satellite expert Marco Langbroek, the impact speed after the delay of the atmospheric drag -drag course could be about 242 km per hour.

Was the Soviet spaceship visible to the eye before the re -entry?

We have heard no reports on Firevballs from the re -entry of the craft. But it is possible that someone saw it or even caught a picture. We will keep you up to date.

The sun is an air school

A factor for the return date of the craft is the activity of the sun. Why? Because when our sun is active, the upper atmosphere of our planet becomes hotter and expands. This in turn means that more atmospheric pulling on low-orbiting objects, which slows down the circulation speed and thus occurs earlier. Follow the daily sun activity here.

Did Kosmos 482 have a parachute?

The advanced astrophotographer Ralf Vandeberg uses a camera that is attached to a telescope to pursue all -round satellites. And some of his pictures show what he could be for the exposed parachute of the Kosmos 482 Lander. Was it possible that Kosmos 482 had attached a parachute? Even if this was the case, after so many years, most experts very much doubt that the ability of the parachute work after so many years and slow down the craft.

Conclusion: This old, failed Soviet spaceship – Kosmos 482 – has apparently returned to earth, according to the Roscosmos, probably in the Indian Ocean.

Read more: Space Vehicle REENTRIES Pour exotic metal particles into the earth's atmosphere