Science
Defunct 1,100lb Soviet Spacecraft Hurtling Toward Earth — Here’s What We Know About Its Descent
This week, a Soviet satellite weighing 1,100 pounds is predicted to crash back on Earth at 17,000 mph.
Scientists anticipate that the missing satellite, which was launched more than 50 years ago, could crash down at any moment between May 9 and May 13.
With the whole United Kingdom at risk, one astronomer thinks he knows the answer to the question of where on Earth it will land.
The satellite was first put into orbit by the USSR in 1972 as part of the Kosmos 482 investigation to gather data about Venus.
But while still in Earth’s orbit, the probe’s engine failed, causing it to shatter into four pieces.
Experts say the last missing component, the probe’s landing module, is returning to Earth while the other pieces burnt up above New Zealand.
Dr. Marco Langbroek, an astronomer and satellite tracker at Delft University of Technology, told the Daily Mail that he thinks the Soviet spacecraft will return to Earth between latitudes 52 degrees north and 52 degrees south.
If he is right, the satellite might strike the United Kingdom, posing a threat to locations south of Cambridge, such as Ipswich and Milton Keynes.
And it’s undoubtedly concerning if the space debris strikes a populated area since, at 17,000 mph, it may be lethal if it collides with a human.
It is doubtful that this last component of the satellite would burn up as it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere because it was made to land safely on Venus.
“The risks involved are not particularly high, but they are not zero,” Langbroek continued.
The object’s landing location is yet unknown, and forecasts could alter at any time because of solar weather that could cause it to veer off course.
An astronomer who monitors satellite re-entries, Dr. Jonathan McDowell, commented on his blog: “The vehicle is dense but inert and has no nuclear materials.”
“No need for major concern, but you wouldn’t want it bashing you on the head.”
He continued: “In which case I expect it’ll have the usual one-in-several-thousand chance of hitting someone.”
Also speaking to the Daily Mail, McDowell went on to say: “If this were to cause damage – or worse, to hurt someone – that would be something that the Russian government would be liable for.”
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