Kosmos 482 (russian: Космос 482 meaning ''Cosmos 482''), launched March 31, 1972, at 04:02:33 UTC, was an attempted

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

probe which failed to escape low Earth orbit. It is expected to crash back to Earth between 2023 and 2025. Its landing module, which weighs , is highly likely to reach the surface of Earth in one piece as it was designed to withstand 300 G's of acceleration and 100 atmospheres of pressure. Beginning in 1962, the name Kosmos was given to Soviet spacecraft which remained in Earth orbit, regardless of whether that was their intended final destination. The designation of this mission as an intended planetary probe is based on evidence from Soviet and non-Soviet sources and historical documents. Typically Soviet planetary missions were initially put into an Earth

parking orbit A parking orbit is a temporary orbit used during the launch of a spacecraft. A launch vehicle boosts into the parking orbit, then coasts for a while, then fires again to enter the final desired trajectory. The alternative to a parking orbit is ''di ...

as a launch platform with a rocket engine and attached probe. The probes were then launched toward their targets with an engine burn with a duration of roughly four minutes. If the engine misfired or the burn was not completed, the probes would be left in Earth orbit and given a Kosmos designation. Kosmos 482 was launched by a Molniya booster on March 31, 1972, four days after the

Venera 8 Venera 8 (russian: Венера-8 meaning ''Venus 8'') was a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of Venus and was the second robotic space probe to conduct a successful landing on the surface of Venus. Venera 8 was a Venus atm ...

atmospheric probe and may have been similar in design and mission plan. After achieving an Earth parking orbit, the spacecraft made an apparent attempt to launch into a

transfer trajectory. It separated into four pieces, two of which remained in low Earth orbit and decayed within 48 hours into south

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and two pieces (presumably the payload and detached engine unit) went into a higher orbit. An incorrectly set timer caused the Blok L stage to cut off prematurely, preventing the probe from escaping Earth orbit. At 1:00 AM on April 3, 1972, four red-hot

titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resista ...

alloy balls landed within a radius of each other just outside Ashburton,

. The spheres scorched holes in crops and made deep indentations in the soil, but no one was injured. A similarly shaped object was discovered near Eiffelton,

, in 1978.

Space law Space law is the body of law governing space-related activities, encompassing both international and domestic agreements, rules, and principles. Parameters of space law include space exploration, liability for damage, weapons use, rescue effort ...

required that the space junk be returned to its national owner, but the Soviets denied knowledge or ownership of the satellite. Ownership therefore fell to the farmer upon whose property the satellite fell. The pieces were thoroughly analyzed by New Zealand scientists which determined that they were Soviet in origin because of manufacturing marks and the high-tech welding of the titanium. The scientists concluded that they were probably gas pressure vessels of a kind used in the launching rocket for a satellite or space vehicle and had decayed in the atmosphere.

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Aussies, Kiwis Take Mir Deorbit in Stride
02:11 pm ET February 20, 2001 *

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Awaiting Mir's Crash Down Under
02:00 AM Feb, 19, 2001 {{Orbital launches in 1972 1972 in spaceflight 1972 in the Soviet Union Satellites formerly orbiting Earth Ashburton, New Zealand Kosmos 0482 Space accidents and incidents in the Soviet Union Venera program Spacecraft launched in 1972

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