A Soviet-era space probe, Kosmos 482, has crashed into the Indian Ocean after orbiting aimlessly for more than 53 years, the Russian space agency Roscosmos announced.
Launched in March 1972 from Baikonur with a Soyuz rocket, Kosmos 482 was intended to gather data from Venus’ atmosphere. However, just moments after launch, the spacecraft broke into four pieces. Two pieces fell back to Earth, while the main 500-kilogram lander remained in orbit around Earth.
Over the decades, the altitude of Kosmos 482’s orbit gradually decreased, and it finally succumbed to Earth’s gravitational pull.
The EU Space Surveillance and Tracking had predicted the crash would occur around 08:07 on Saturday, allowing for a margin of several hours. The exact impact location was uncertain, with the possibility of it landing in various global regions, including parts of Europe.
Ultimately, the timing forecast was close. Roscosmos confirmed that Kosmos 482 re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at 08:24 near India’s Andaman Islands and soon after crashed 560 kilometres west of Jakarta, Indonesia.
