The space probe of the Kosmos 482 Soviet Union was an artifact designed with the intention of reaching Venus. According to NASA’s information, the mission failed and failed to get out of the terrestrial orbit so it was wandering near the earth.
Kosmos 482 was launched from a SL-6/A-2-e rocket only four days after another Soviet probe called Venera 8 left for the same goal. The probe was separated into four parts After launch: Two of those parts degraded at 48 hours to remain in the low orbit of the earth and the other twoaccording to NASA “presumably the terrifying probe and the motor unit of the separate upper stage”, They entered a higher orbit.
“It is believed that a failure caused an engine combustion that Not enough speed for the transfer to Venus and left the payload in this elliptical orbit around the Earth. The orbit of the terrifying probe has been decaying over time And it is expected that Re -enter the atmosphere terrestrial around May 10, 2025“NASA points out in a statement.
-Time, place and consequences of impact
On the other hand, Satellites expert Marco Langbroek of the Technical University of Delft has pointed out in his personal blog The risk that this satellite can mean For the population. “The risks involved They are not particularly high, but either zero: With a mass of just under 500 kg and a size of 1 meter, the risks are something similar to those of the impact of a meteorite“Langbroek warns. Specifically, according to several calculations, the impact would be similar to that of a meteorite fragment between 40 and 55 centimeters.
Since the ship was designed to enter the surface of Venus and endure high temperaturesNASA and Langbroek have noticed that You may not disintegrate when you enter the earth again.
He moment and place in which the impact will occur They do not know with certainty. From NASA they point out that the space probe may fall Between parallels 52 ° N and 52 ° Sthat is, practically anywhere on the planet. On the other hand, Langbroek points in the last update of his blog (May 8 at 22:30) that the Saturday, May 10 at 9:34 (With a 10.6 hour error margin).
