Kosmos 482 (“Космос 482” in Russian, meaning Cosmos 482) was a Soviet spacecraft originally intended as a Venus lander. Launched on 31 March 1972 at 04:02:33 UTC, the mission failed to achieve escape velocity from low Earth orbit. As a result, it was retrospectively designated “Kosmos,” a naming convention used for Earth-orbiting missions.
Design and Construction
Kosmos 482, launched on 31 March 1972 aboard a Molniya rocket—just four days after the successful Venera 8 launch—was likely similar in design and purpose. After reaching a parking orbit, the spacecraft attempted to initiate a Venus-bound trajectory. However, a misconfigured timer caused the Blok L stage to shut down too early, preventing escape from Earth’s gravity.
Mission Objectives
The mission objectives of Kosmos 482 were essentially the same as those of its twin mission, Venera 8, since they were launched only four days apart and likely shared similar design and goals.
Although Kosmos 482 never left Earth orbit due to a failed upper-stage burn, it was intended to be a Venus lander, part of the Soviet Venera program, which aimed to explore the surface and atmosphere of Venus.
Launch and Deployment
On 10 May 2025, during a reentry window between 06:04 and 07:32 UTC, the descent module reentered Earth’s atmosphere along a trajectory covering parts of Australia, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, and Europe. According to Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, the spacecraft ultimately impacted the northeastern Indian Ocean at approximately 06:24 UTC.
The spacecraft broke into four parts: two quickly decayed and fell to Earth near Ashburton, New Zealand, within 48 hours, while the remaining two—including the descent module—entered a highly elliptical orbit (210 km × 9,800 km, inclined at 51.95°). On 3 April 1972, four titanium alloy spheres weighing 13.6 kg each crashed into farmland in New Zealand, scorching crops and creating craters but causing no injuries.
Despite international space law requiring return to the launching nation, the USSR denied ownership. New Zealand scientists identified the debris as Soviet based on markings and construction techniques.
Technical Specifications
The descent module weighed approximately 495 kilograms (1,091 pounds) and was originally engineered to survive the harsh entry conditions of Venus’s atmosphere, capable of withstanding up to 300 g of acceleration and 100 atmospheres of pressure. However, due to the spacecraft’s age and the shallow reentry angle, it is uncertain how much of it survived intact. Tumbling or incorrect orientation during descent may have caused portions to burn up. Simulations using the TUDAT software estimated the final impact velocity to be between 65 and 70 meters per second (230–250 km/h; 150–160 mph).
- Launch mass: 495 kilograms (1,091 lb)
- Reference system: Geocentric
- Regime: Low Earth orbit
- Launch date: March 31, 1972, 04:02:00 UTC
- Rocket: Molniya 8K78M
- Launch site: Baikonur 31/6
Current Status
The final surviving component—the descent module—remained in orbit until reentering Earth’s atmosphere on 10 May 2025. The European Space Agency noted it was not detected over Germany as expected at 07:32 UTC, suggesting reentry occurred earlier. Roscosmos later confirmed the craft impacted the northeastern Indian Ocean at 06:24 UTC, west of Jakarta, Indonesia.
