Soviet-era spacecraft 'likely' to have re-entered Earth's atmosphere

Maddy Moloy

Climate and Science Reporter

The Soviet Union launched several missions to locate Venus – this investigation was from earlier flight

Getty image image image shows two individuals in the white lab coat, which reduces the descent capsules of the Soviet Space Venera 5 or 6 in a large, cylindrical metal structure to test the heat resistance. The capsule is circular with half of a dark bottom and a light top half, with several circular holes. — The Soviet Union launched several missions to locate Venus – this investigation was from earlier flight

The European Space Agency said that there is a possibility of re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere after being stuck in the orbit of the Soviet-era’s spacecraft for more than half a century.

Kosmos 482, which was launched in 1972 on a mission of Venus, never excluded it from the Earth’s orbit and instead broke into four pieces that have been orbiting the planet for more than five decades.

The European Union’s Space Monitoring and Tracking Center (SST) stated that a piece – a lander is considered – “most likely” re -entered the atmosphere at around 06:16 GMT (07:16 BST) on Saturday.

It is not clear whether the object fell on the ground or burned into the atmosphere.

It is also not clear where the object entered the atmosphere again.

While many experts do not know about the re -entry of the object, 70% of the earth is covered by the sea, so it is unlikely to cause significant damage.

Stijan Lamens, a senior analyst at the European Space Agency, said, “It is very likely that you win the lottery that you are affected by this piece of space debris.”

The Lander Capsule of Kosmos 482 was designed to avoid excessive heat and pressure of the Venus environment, which means that it had a strong heat shield and durable structure.

This is why experts feel that it can avoid an uncontrolled lineage through the Earth’s atmosphere.

However, the parachute system of Cosmos 482, which is originally to slow down the lineage of the lander towards Venus, is likely to be low in space after more than 50 years.

Mr. Lemans said that “man -made objects in the Earth’s atmosphere are re -re -entering”. He said that it is weekly for large spacecraft and daily for small people.

Its usually burns in the Earth’s atmosphere before reaching the ground.

China’s long march 5B booster Entered the Indian Ocean again in 2022, and Tiangong -1 space station Most of them were burnt on Prashant in 2018.

Kosmos 482 is now being closely tracked by international space agencies.

Mr. Lemans said that the future spacecraft should be “designed in such a way that they can safely expel themselves from the classroom, preferably by controlling re -entries”.

This will allow for accurate predictions of landing locations, reduce any debris the risk of protecting people and property by affecting populated areas and “managing the environmental impact of space debris”.