USSR-launched spacecraft falls into Indian Ocean

A Venus probe re-entered Earth’s atmosphere after 53 years in orbit.

A Soviet spacecraft launched in 1972 has crashed into the Indian Ocean, according to Russia’s space agency Roscosmos. The Kosmos 482 probe had been orbiting Earth for over five decades after a failed mission to Venus.

Roscosmos reported that the spacecraft re-entered Earth’s atmosphere on Saturday morning, and fell into the ocean west of Jakarta, Indonesia. The descent was monitored by the Automated Warning System for Hazardous Situations in Near-Earth Space. No damage or injuries were reported.

Kosmos 482 was launched on March 31, 1972, as part of the Soviet Union’s program aimed at exploring Venus. However, due to a malfunction in the upper stage of its launch vehicle, the spacecraft failed to escape Earth’s gravity and remained in an elliptical orbit.

The probe’s lander module, designed to withstand the harsh conditions of Venus, was built with a robust titanium shell. This construction raised the possibility that parts of the spacecraft might survive re-entry.

The Soviet Union’s Venera program, active from 1961 to the early 1980s, achieved several milestones in planetary exploration. Notably, in 1970, the Venera 7 became the first spacecraft to transmit data from the surface of another planet, and the Venera 9 sent back the first images from Venus’ surface in 1975. Overall, the program successfully landed multiple probes on Venus, providing valuable data on its atmosphere and surface conditions.

According to Roscosmos, thousands of defunct spacecraft remain in Earth’s orbit. In the past year alone, 1,981 space objects of both natural and artificial origin entered the atmosphere. “In fact, about five objects fall to Earth each day, with every seventh weighing more than 500 kg. We can observe them at night as ‘falling stars.’ Instances of material damage are rare. There have been no injuries among people, the agency’s press service noted earlier this week.