After half a century, a Soviet spacecraft crashed into the Indian Ocean

The Soviet automatic space station Kosmos-482, which has been in Earth's orbit since 1972, entered the dense layers of the atmosphere and fell into the Indian Ocean, the Russian space agency Roscosmos announced.

"According to the calculations of experts from JSC CNIIMass (part of Roscosmos), the station entered the dense layers of the atmosphere at 9.24:560 a.m. Moscow time, XNUMX kilometers west of the Middle Andaman Island, and fell into the Indian Ocean west of Jakarta," the statement said, reports Interfax.

Roscosmos states that the descent of the station was controlled by the Automated Warning System for Dangerous Situations in Near Space.

Fallen after half a century

The Soviets launched Kosmos 482 in 1972, intending to send it to Venus to join other spacecraft in the Venus program.

However, due to a rocket malfunction, that spacecraft remained stuck in orbit around the Earth. Gravity was constantly pulling her down and was expected to finally cause her end.

Spherical in shape, the spacecraft - with a diameter of one meter and a mass of more than 495 kilograms - is the last part of Kosmos 482 that fell from the sky. All other parts collapsed within a decade.

Any remains of the aircraft, according to the United Nations agreement, belong to Russia.

Above average durability

Built to land on the solar system's hottest planet, the craft is covered in titanium, which is why experts expected it to survive its fiery, uncontrolled fall through Earth's atmosphere.

Marek Zibart, a professor of space geodesy at University College London, said the situation was unusual, and that satellites leaving orbit usually burn up in the Earth's atmosphere due to air resistance.

However, this is not the case with Kosmos 482 - a spacecraft designed to withstand the extreme conditions of Venus, such as the acidic atmosphere and high temperatures. 

"Anything we try to send to Venus has to be shielded," Ziebart told The Guardian.

"Since this thing weighs about 500 kilograms and is only about a meter in diameter, it will probably survive," he added.

Sources: Guardian/AP