Kosmos 482
Assembly of Venera 8, a similar craft | |
| Names | Kosmos 482 main bus |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Delivery of a lander to Venus |
| Operator | Soviet Academy of Sciences |
| COSPAR ID | 1972-023A |
| SATCAT no. | 5919 |
| Mission duration | Launch failure |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | 3V (V-72) no. 671 |
| Bus | 3MV |
| Launch mass | 1,180 kilograms (2,600 lb) (including the descent module) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | March 31, 1972, 04:02:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Molniya 8K78M |
| Launch site | Baikonur 31/6 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | 5 May 1981 final sections of 1972-023A |
| Mission type | Venus lander (intended) Earth Impactor (accidental) |
|---|---|
| Operator | Soviet Academy of Sciences |
| COSPAR ID | 1972-023E |
| SATCAT no. | 6073 |
| Mission duration | Launch failure |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Launch mass | 495 kilograms (1,091 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | March 31, 1972, 04:02:00 UTC |
| Deployed from | Separated from the main bus |
| Deployment date | mid-June 1972 |
| End of mission | |
| Decay date | Reentry 06:04-07:32 UTC 10 May 2025 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Semi-major axis | 6,588 kilometres (4,094 mi) |
| Perigee altitude | 120 kilometres (75 mi) 00:35 UTC 10 May 2025 |
| Apogee altitude | 166 kilometres (103 mi) 00:35 UTC 10 May 2025 |
| Inclination | 51.95° |
| Period | 88.7 minutes |
| Epoch | 00:36 UTC 10 May 2025 |
Kosmos 482 (Russian: "Космос 482" meaning Cosmos 482) was an attempted Soviet Venus probe. Launched 31 March 1972, at 04:02:33 UTC, it failed to escape low Earth orbit. Because of this, its name was retrospectively changed to "Kosmos" which was used for Earth-orbiting satellites.
After achieving a parking orbit around Earth, the full Venera payload (1972-023A) separated into two objects. What was calculated to be the Venera main bus kept the 1972-023A designation, while the designation 1972-023E (catalogue no. 6073) was assigned to the descent craft, which was the section meant to be landed on Venus. The main bus and its associated rocket stages reentered Earth's atmosphere between 3 April 1972 and 5 May 1981.
During a 6:04 to 7:32 UTC window on 10 May 2025, the descent craft crashed while it was on a trajectory over Australia, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East and Europe. According to the Russian space agency Roscosmos, it crashed at 6:24 UTC, into the north-eastern Indian Ocean.
The landing module, which weighed around 495 kilograms (1,091 lb), may have reached the surface of Earth largely intact. Correctly oriented, it was designed to withstand 300 g of acceleration and 100 atmospheres of pressure entering the atmosphere of Venus. However, the age of the craft and the shallow angle of reentry likely reduced survivability; tumbling or misorientation may have resulted in sections of the craft burning up in Earth's atmosphere. The final impact velocity was estimated to be 65–70 metres per second (230–250 km/h; 150–160 mph) using a TUDAT simulation.