Kosmos 482 Soviet-era spacecraft, launched in 1972 on a mission to Venus. It is scheduled to return to Earth’s atmosphere on or about May 10. piece of the spacecraft, which had spent more than 50 years in low Earth orbit. One piece, believed to be the lander probe, has space agencies around the world on the edge of their seats tracking its expected path.
Despite its long journey through space, experts believe at least part of Kosmos 482 could survive the re-entry without burning up. The lander capsule is a large, roughly spherical object of approx 1m diameter and ~500kg. Designed for maximum durability to stand up to the harshest environments! This parachute system was meant to slow the descent as they approached Venus. Unfortunately, after over five decades of operation in space, its sensors are no doubt degraded.
The anticipated trajectory for Kosmos 482 shows it was capable of landing anywhere from 51.7° N to S latitude. While this trajectory intersects with a large swath of the populated Earth, threat to humans on the ground is extremely unlikely. As Mr. Stijn Lemmens noted regarding space debris incidents, “It’s much more likely that you win the lottery than that you get impacted by this piece of space debris.”
Kosmos 482’s re-entry is part of a regular occurrence in space where larger spacecraft re-enter weekly and smaller ones daily. The spacecraft’s return represents the end of a remarkable chapter in the history of earth and space exploration. It serves as an important wake-up call to the very real threats that space debris continues to pose.
Mr. Lemmens further emphasized the need for improved safety measures. “Spacecraft should be designed in such a way that they can take themselves out of orbit safely, preferably by doing controlled re-entries.”
As Kosmos 482 moves closer to its re-entry date, scientists and engineers now carefully watch its movements around the Earth. The event should highlight this urgent need and the importance of tracking aging spacecraft. It will address the increasing threats from space debris, which threaten to impact both orbital activities and groundbased human activity.