The Cosmos 482 space probe is a ship that was created and launched by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) on March 31, 1972, with the aim of exploring the planet Venus. However, he never managed to complete his mission because he did not reach destination. More than half a century later, The artifact is expected to impact the earth May 10 and, therefore, there is concern among specialists because Its re -entry is an un controlled process, because it belonged to the Soviet era. The great unknown that keeps the entire aerospace community in suspense is where the ship will fall.
According to information provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the device was sent to space by a SL-6/A-2-E pitcher four days after the atmospheric probes called Venera 7 and 8that had an identical design and mission plan.
Unlike cosmos 482, these last two did complete the mission of exploring Venus and were the First two spacecraft to land successfully in 1970 and 1972. These missions were given within the framework of the program called Venera that carried out the Soviet Union To obtain information about that planet.
Regarding what happened in space with Cosmos 482, NASA explained: “Separated into four partstwo of which remained in low terrestrial orbit and disintegrated in 48 hours, and two parts (presumably the airstrip and the motor unit of the detached upper stage) entered a higher orbit It is believed that a fault caused the engine to burnso it did not reach sufficient speed for the transfer to Venus and left the payload in this elliptical terrestrial orbit. Is that, from that moment, The ship follows an almost circular orbit on Earth.
As for the characteristics of this ship, It measures a meter in diameter and weighs 495 kilos. It is also known that it had a upper cover that is supposed to be detached when entering the atmosphere for deploy a parachute of 2.5 meters and expose the antenna and instruments. This It worked with batteries. Even its instrumentation included temperature, pressure and density sensors, as well as an accelerometer, a radio altimeter, an anemometer, a gamma ray spectrometer, a gas analyzer, visible photometers and radio transmitters. However, It is not known if it currently works and if the parachute will be activated or not.
On the great unknown about where cosmos 482 will fall, NASA revealed that the point of maximum approach to our planet is about 200 kilometers, and It will collide at some point between 52 degrees north and south. This means that can impact virtually any point on earth Out of the poles. It should be noted that the Caribbean Astronomy Society (SAC) communicated on its Facebook that “The exact date can be advanced or delayed by the activity in the sunsince when the sun is more active, our atmosphere is heated and expanding, and this causes that objects in low orbits feel greater friction or atmospheric braking and begin their reentry earlier than expected. ”
So far You cannot predict at what time and place cosmos 482 will fall Because various factors influence that the human cannot control as the activity of the sun or if the parachute works, in addition to that it is a space probe launched by the USSR of which there is no access to such detailed information.
