Uncontrolled reentry of Kosmos 482 satellite in May

After 53 years in orbit around the Earth, the Soviet satellite Kosmos 482 could re-enter the Earth's atmosphere in an uncontrolled manner between May 7 and 13 : being a lander designed to land on Venus by resisting acceleration, high pressure and extreme heat, it might not disintegrate completely , thus reaching the Earth's surface, says satellite expert Marco Langbroek, professor of Space Situational Awareness at the Technical University of Delft, in the Netherlands. " The risks are not particularly high , but not zero either : with a mass of just under 500 kilograms and a diameter of one meter , the risks are similar to those of a meteorite impact ," writes Langbroek on his blog, indicating "an impact speed (after atmospheric deceleration) of 65-70 meters per second , equal to about 242 kilometers per hour ." "At the moment - the expert points out - we cannot say with certainty when and where exactly" the uncontrolled reentry will occur . The models indicate that it could happen around May 10 , with a margin of error of about three days , over an area between 52 degrees north latitude and 52 degrees south latitude (a window that includes most of the land and oceans ). The uncertainty about the date and place will reduce as we get closer to the actual reentry, even if the margin of uncertainty will remain high until the very end . Kosmos 482 was launched by the Soviet Union on March 31, 1972 to reach Venus. The lander, one meter wide and weighing about 495 kilos, managed to reach its parking orbit around the Earth , but a problem with a timer led to the premature shutdown of an engine , not allowing the probe to restart towards its true destination.