Soviet Spacecraft Crash Lands on Earth After a Journey of Half a Century

The New York Times ^ | May 10, 2025 | Updated 1:34 p.m. ET | Nadia Drake

[E. Pluribus Unum]

After looping through space for 53 years, a wayward Soviet spacecraft called Kosmos-482 returned to Earth, entering the dense layers of the planet’s atmosphere at 9:24 a.m. Moscow time on Saturday, according to Roscosmos, the Russian state corporation that runs the space program.

Designed to land on the surface of Venus, Kosmos-482 may have remained intact during its plunge. It splashed down in the Indian Ocean west of Jakarta, Indonesia, Roscosmos said.

Kosmos-482 was launched on March 31, 1972, but became stranded in Earth’s orbit after one of its rocket boosters shut down prematurely. The spacecraft’s return to Earth was a reminder of the Cold War competition that prompted science fiction-like visions of Earthbound powers projecting themselves out into the solar system.

“It recalls a time when the Soviet Union was adventurous in space — when we were all maybe more adventurous in space,” said Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who tracks objects launched into orbit. “It’s a bit of a bittersweet moment in that sense.”

While America had won the race to the moon, the Soviet Union, through its Venera program, kept its sights on Venus, Earth’s twisted sister.

From 1961 to 1984, the Soviets launched 29 spacecraft toward the shrouded world next door. Many of those missions failed, but more than a dozen did not. The Venera spacecraft surveilled Venus from orbit, collected atmospheric observations while gently descending through its toxic clouds, scooped and studied soil samples and sent back the first, and only, pictures we have from the planet’s surface.

“Kosmos-482 is a reminder that, 50 years ago, the Soviet Union reached the planet Venus. Here is a physical artifact of that project, of that time,” said...

[dfwgator]

Did it land on Kenny?

[kosciusko51]

Wasn’t there an episode of “The Six Million Dollar Man” where a Russian lander for Venus landed on Earth?

[BobL]

Sorry, NOT BUYING IT. If Russia was actually able to soft-land a spacecraft on Venus, given the incredibly difficult conditions there, they would EASILY be able to build hypersonic missiles that us Globalists would have NO DEFENSE against. So this article is pure BS.

Nice try, though.

[sjmjax]

Andromeda Strain anyone?

[nevadapatriot]

Wow an Opus, your funeral pal

[rbg81]

I’ve seen this movie before. This is what causes the Zombie apocalypse.

[JusPasenThru]

Well miss ya man.

[dayglored]

Excuse me???

[CatHerd]

Lol! You -— oops, can’t say that on FR.

Ah well, no worries. Kenny will be back next episode.

[dayglored]

IBTZ

[dayglored]

Zot ping?

[crusty old prospector]

Just dang, dude.

[Moleman]

yes my favorite

[plain talk]

“Well miss ya man.”

I wont. For some reason they are a bit slow on the draw to delete his account but its just a matter of time i guess.

[Ezekiel]

Kosmos-482 was launched on March 31, 1972, but became stranded in Earth’s orbit after one of its rocket boosters shut down prematurely. The spacecraft’s return to Earth was a reminder of the Cold War competition that prompted science fiction-like visions of Earthbound powers projecting themselves out into the solar system.

It was Good Friday. Kosmos 482 was stranded up there a long time..

Return to sender, address unknown..

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Ground control to Major Kosmos...

[fishtank]

Uncalled for.

[RandallFlagg]

Account nuked.