Kosmos 482
Failed Soviet Venus probe that reentered after 53 years.
Kosmos 482 was an attempted Soviet Venus probe launched on 31 March 1972. It failed to escape low Earth orbit and was subsequently given the Kosmos designation, typically reserved for Earth-orbiting satellites. Its descent craft remained in orbit for over 53 years before reentering Earth's atmosphere in 2025.
Quick Facts
- Names list
- Kosmos 482 main bus
- Operator
- Soviet Academy of Sciences
- Satcat
- 5919
- Mission duration
- Launch failure
- Spacecraft bus
- 3MV
- Launch mass
- 1,180 kg / 2,601 lb (including the descent module)
- Launched
- 31 March 1972, 04:02:00 UTC
- Launch rocket
- Molniya 8K78M
Facts from the source article.
Background
Starting in 1962, any Soviet spacecraft that ended up in Earth orbit, even if meant for another destination, was called Kosmos. These planetary missions would first enter a parking orbit as a launch platform with a rocket and probe. If the four-minute engine burn meant to send the probe onward failed or was cut short, the probe stayed in orbit and got the Kosmos label.
History
Kosmos 482 was launched by a Molniya booster on 31 March 1972, four days after the Venera 8 atmospheric probe, and may have been similar in design and mission plan. After achieving an Earth parking orbit, the spacecraft attempted to launch into a Venus transfer trajectory but separated into four pieces. An incorrectly set timer caused the Blok L stage to cut off prematurely, preventing escape from Earth orbit. Two pieces remained in low Earth orbit and decayed within 48 hours into south New Zealand. Two other pieces entered a higher 210 x 9800 km, 51.95 degree inclination orbit. On 3 April 1972, four red-hot 13.6 kg titanium alloy spheres, each 38 cm in diameter, crashed within a 16 km radius of each other near Ashburton, New Zealand. A similarly shaped object was found near Eiffelton, New Zealand, in 1978. Space law required return of the debris to its national owner, but the Soviets denied knowledge or ownership, so ownership fell to the farmer. New Zealand scientists determined the spheres were Soviet gas pressure vessels from a launching rocket. The last piece in orbit, the descent craft, reentered on 10 May 2025. The European Space Agency reported it was not detected by radar during a predicted pass over Germany at 07:32 UTC, concluding reentry likely occurred earlier. The Russian space agency Roscosmos stated the lander impacted the eastern Indian Ocean at 6:24 UTC west of Jakarta, Indonesia.
More in Space Probes of ESA, Japan, China, India and the USSR
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