Soviet spacecraft "Kosmos-482" falls to Earth after more than 50 years in Orbit

The Soviet-era spacecraft Kosmos-482, which had been orbiting Earth since 1972, re-entered the atmosphere and fell into the Indian Ocean on May 10.

The uncrewed probe entered the Earth's denser atmospheric layers at 08:24 local time, approximately 560 kilometres west of Middle Andaman Island, Caliber.Az reports per Roscosmos.

It eventually splashed down in the Indian Ocean, west of Jakarta.

Originally launched in 1972 as part of a mission to Venus, Kosmos-482 failed to escape Earth’s orbit due to a malfunction in its upper stage. As a result, it remained stranded in low Earth orbit for over five decades.

The spacecraft, measuring around one metre in diameter and weighing under 500 kilograms, was intended to deliver a descent module to Venus and carried various scientific instruments.

Earlier, 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