Soviet spaceship which took off in 1972 for Venus to crash back to Earth after 53 years
A Soviet spaceship which took off for Venus in 1972 - but a failed launch left it circling lifelessly above us - is finally returning to earth.
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Kosmos 482 became stranded in Earth’s orbit after a premature engine cutoff during its launch phase.
Now the spacecraft is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere between May 8 and 11 - after 53 years in space.
It was designed to survive the extreme conditions of Venus’s dense and hot atmosphere.
Where will it re enter?
The orbital inclination of 52 degrees means the craft could reenter anywhere between 52°N and 52°S latitude.
This reentry zone covers basically most of the world, excluding far northern areas such as northern Canada and Scandinavia, and far southern regions such as Antarctica.
However, statistical models suggest most debris from uncontrolled reentries falls into oceans or sparsely populated regions.
Estimates to work out the location and timing of the exact reentry are to improve as it approaches.
Probability that the re entry will be over water is high
Will it be visible during reentry?
In the extremely rare chance that reentry has occurred over your area, the object should resemble a very bright and slow meteor, probably showing some fragmentation.
As we get closer to the reentry of this unusual orbiting object, we will keep you updated.
No official statements have been issued by Russian authorities regarding Kosmos 482’s reentry.
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