Kosmos 482: Soviet Venus Probe Plunges into Indian Ocean After Decades in Orbit
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A relic of the soviet space program, Kosmos 482, met it’s fiery end in the Indian Ocean, marking the conclusion of a decades-long orbital journey.
Uncontrolled Re-entry: Kosmos 482’s Final Descent
The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, confirmed that the Kosmos 482 spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and impacted the Indian Ocean. This event occurred after the probe spent over half a century orbiting our planet, a result of a mission failure dating back to the early space race.
Roscosmos indicated that the re-entry aligned with predicted timelines, occurring around 9:24 AM moscow time. the spacecraft disintegrated approximately 560 kilometers west of the Andaman Islands, with debris falling into the ocean west of Jakarta.
A Mission Interrupted: The Venera Program and Kosmos 482’s Fate
Launched in 1972, Kosmos 482 was intended to be part of the Soviet Union’s Venera program, an ambitious effort to explore Venus. However, a launch malfunction prevented the spacecraft from escaping Earth’s orbit, leaving it stranded in a decaying trajectory.
The probe’s eventual return to Earth’s atmosphere was continuously monitored by automated systems designed to detect potentially hazardous near-Earth objects. These systems tracked its descent, providing data that allowed for the determination of the impact zone following the event.
Debris and Dimensions: Understanding the Spacecraft
Kosmos 482 was a spherical apparatus, weighing approximately 495 kilograms and measuring 1.17 meters in diameter. While the majority of the spacecraft likely burned up during re-entry, some fragments may have reached the ocean surface.
Space Debris: A Growing Concern
The uncontrolled re-entry of Kosmos 482 highlights the increasing issue of space debris. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), there are currently over 36,500 objects larger than 10 cm being tracked in orbit. these objects pose a significant threat to active satellites and future space missions.
The greatest source of near-term risk is collision with other objects.
ESA’s Space Debris Office
Efforts are underway to develop technologies and strategies for removing space debris and mitigating the risks associated with uncontrolled re-entries. These include active debris removal missions and improved spacecraft design to ensure controlled de-orbiting at the end of a mission.
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