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| Meta Title | Soviet-era spacecraft plunges to Earth after 53 years stuck in orbit | Space | The Guardian |
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| Boilerpipe Text | A Soviet-era spacecraft plunged to Earth on Saturday, more than a half century after its failed launch to Venus.
The European Union
Space
Surveillance and Tracking agency confirmed its uncontrolled re-entry, based on analysis and the disappearance of the spacecraft from tracking on subsequent orbits. The European Space Agencyâs space debris office also indicated it had re-entered the atmosphere after it failed to appear over a German radar station.
It was not immediately known where the half-tonne spacecraft came in or how much, if any, of it survived the fiery descent from orbit. Experts said prior to the event that some and perhaps all of it
could come crashing down
, given it was built to withstand a landing on Venus, the solar systemâs hottest planet.
The chances of anyone being hit by spacecraft debris were exceedingly low, scientists said.
Launched in 1972 by the Soviet Union, the spacecraft Kosmos 482 was part of a series of missions bound for Venus. But this one never made it out of orbit around Earth, stranded there by a rocket malfunction.
Much of the spacecraft came tumbling back to Earth within a decade of the failed launch. No longer able to resist gravityâs tug as its orbit dwindled, the spherical lander â an estimated 1 metre across â was the last part of the spacecraft to come down. The lander was encased in titanium, according to experts, and weighed more than 495kg.
After the spacecraftâs downward spiral, scientists, military experts and others could not pinpoint in advance precisely when or where the spacecraft might come down. Solar activity added to the uncertainty, along with the spacecraftâs deteriorating condition after so long in space.
The Russians indicated it came down over the Indian Ocean, but some experts were not so sure of the precise location.
As of Saturday morning, US Space Command had yet to confirm the spacecraftâs demise as it collected and analysed data from orbit.
The military unit routinely monitors dozens of re-entries each month. What set Kosmos 482 apart â and earned it extra attention from government and private space trackers â was that it was more likely to survive re-entry, according to officials.
It was also coming in uncontrolled, without any intervention by flight controllers, who normally target the Pacific and other vast expanses of water for old satellites and other space debris.
Some observers expressed disappointment at the lingering uncertainty over the exact whereabouts of the spacecraftâs grave.
âIf it was over the Indian Ocean, only the whales saw it,â the Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek said on X. |
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The Soviet-era Venera-4 is of a similar design to the Kosmos 482. Photograph: Rave/Wikimedia
[View image in fullscreen](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/may/10/kosmos-482-soviet-spacecraft-plunges-to-earth#img-1)
The Soviet-era Venera-4 is of a similar design to the Kosmos 482. Photograph: Rave/Wikimedia
[Space](https://www.theguardian.com/science/space)
This article is more than **10 months old**
# Soviet-era spacecraft plunges to Earth after 53 years stuck in orbit
This article is more than 10 months old
Kosmos 482 re-enters the atmosphere more than a half century since launch on failed mission to Venus
Associated Press
Sat 10 May 2025 14.05 CEST
First published on Sat 10 May 2025 13.27 CEST
Share
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A Soviet-era spacecraft plunged to Earth on Saturday, more than a half century after its failed launch to Venus.
The European Union [Space](https://www.theguardian.com/science/space) Surveillance and Tracking agency confirmed its uncontrolled re-entry, based on analysis and the disappearance of the spacecraft from tracking on subsequent orbits. The European Space Agencyâs space debris office also indicated it had re-entered the atmosphere after it failed to appear over a German radar station.
It was not immediately known where the half-tonne spacecraft came in or how much, if any, of it survived the fiery descent from orbit. Experts said prior to the event that some and perhaps all of it [could come crashing down](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/may/02/soviet-era-spacecraft-kosmos-482-uncontrolled-return-earth-next-week), given it was built to withstand a landing on Venus, the solar systemâs hottest planet.
The chances of anyone being hit by spacecraft debris were exceedingly low, scientists said.
Launched in 1972 by the Soviet Union, the spacecraft Kosmos 482 was part of a series of missions bound for Venus. But this one never made it out of orbit around Earth, stranded there by a rocket malfunction.
Much of the spacecraft came tumbling back to Earth within a decade of the failed launch. No longer able to resist gravityâs tug as its orbit dwindled, the spherical lander â an estimated 1 metre across â was the last part of the spacecraft to come down. The lander was encased in titanium, according to experts, and weighed more than 495kg.
[Trump administration to stop US research on space pollution, in boon to Elon Musk Read more](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/07/space-pollution-elon-musk)
After the spacecraftâs downward spiral, scientists, military experts and others could not pinpoint in advance precisely when or where the spacecraft might come down. Solar activity added to the uncertainty, along with the spacecraftâs deteriorating condition after so long in space.
The Russians indicated it came down over the Indian Ocean, but some experts were not so sure of the precise location.
As of Saturday morning, US Space Command had yet to confirm the spacecraftâs demise as it collected and analysed data from orbit.
The military unit routinely monitors dozens of re-entries each month. What set Kosmos 482 apart â and earned it extra attention from government and private space trackers â was that it was more likely to survive re-entry, according to officials.
It was also coming in uncontrolled, without any intervention by flight controllers, who normally target the Pacific and other vast expanses of water for old satellites and other space debris.
Some observers expressed disappointment at the lingering uncertainty over the exact whereabouts of the spacecraftâs grave.
âIf it was over the Indian Ocean, only the whales saw it,â the Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek said on X.
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| Readable Markdown | A Soviet-era spacecraft plunged to Earth on Saturday, more than a half century after its failed launch to Venus.
The European Union [Space](https://www.theguardian.com/science/space) Surveillance and Tracking agency confirmed its uncontrolled re-entry, based on analysis and the disappearance of the spacecraft from tracking on subsequent orbits. The European Space Agencyâs space debris office also indicated it had re-entered the atmosphere after it failed to appear over a German radar station.
It was not immediately known where the half-tonne spacecraft came in or how much, if any, of it survived the fiery descent from orbit. Experts said prior to the event that some and perhaps all of it [could come crashing down](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/may/02/soviet-era-spacecraft-kosmos-482-uncontrolled-return-earth-next-week), given it was built to withstand a landing on Venus, the solar systemâs hottest planet.
The chances of anyone being hit by spacecraft debris were exceedingly low, scientists said.
Launched in 1972 by the Soviet Union, the spacecraft Kosmos 482 was part of a series of missions bound for Venus. But this one never made it out of orbit around Earth, stranded there by a rocket malfunction.
Much of the spacecraft came tumbling back to Earth within a decade of the failed launch. No longer able to resist gravityâs tug as its orbit dwindled, the spherical lander â an estimated 1 metre across â was the last part of the spacecraft to come down. The lander was encased in titanium, according to experts, and weighed more than 495kg.
After the spacecraftâs downward spiral, scientists, military experts and others could not pinpoint in advance precisely when or where the spacecraft might come down. Solar activity added to the uncertainty, along with the spacecraftâs deteriorating condition after so long in space.
The Russians indicated it came down over the Indian Ocean, but some experts were not so sure of the precise location.
As of Saturday morning, US Space Command had yet to confirm the spacecraftâs demise as it collected and analysed data from orbit.
The military unit routinely monitors dozens of re-entries each month. What set Kosmos 482 apart â and earned it extra attention from government and private space trackers â was that it was more likely to survive re-entry, according to officials.
It was also coming in uncontrolled, without any intervention by flight controllers, who normally target the Pacific and other vast expanses of water for old satellites and other space debris.
Some observers expressed disappointment at the lingering uncertainty over the exact whereabouts of the spacecraftâs grave.
âIf it was over the Indian Ocean, only the whales saw it,â the Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek said on X. |
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