Soviet satellite to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on May 10 Risk to public Deemed Minimal

A Soviet-era space probe that has been orbiting Earth since 1972 is expected to re-enter the planet’s atmosphere later on May 10, with the likelihood of causing any damage considered extremely low, according to space monitoring agencies. 

The unmanned spacecraft, Kosmos-482, is projected to descend into the denser layers of the atmosphere at approximately 10:07 local time in Baku (GMT +4), based on the latest tracking data from the European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking (EU SST) network, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

The re-entry window carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 hours.

Russia’s state space corporation, Roscosmos, told Interfax news agency that the risk of damage from the spacecraft’s return is “extremely low.”

The probe measures roughly one metre in diameter and weighs under 500 kilogrammes—almost six times lighter than the Soyuz descent module used to bring astronauts back to Earth.

“The spacecraft's trajectory is being monitored by both Russian and international tracking systems,” a Roscosmos spokesperson said. “The coordinates of the re-entry point are being refined as the object continues its orbital decay.”

Roscosmos noted that 1,981 natural and artificial space objects entered Earth’s atmosphere last year alone.

“On average, five objects fall to Earth every day, with one in seven weighing more than 500 kilogrammes. These are often visible as ‘shooting stars’ during nighttime hours. Incidents of material damage are rare, and there have been no recorded injuries,” the agency said.

By Aghakazim Guliyev