The May Day holiday is over, and the stars of Russia are getting ready to go home!
The satellite that has been wandering in space for 53 years is finally coming back!
On May 4, the "Komsomolskaya Pravda" newspaper published an article.
Russian experts estimate that the Venus spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union in 1972 is expected to return to Earth between May 12 and 14, probably in the southern region of Russia.
This is a new series of spacecraft (KA) developed by NPO Lavochkin for travel to Venus. Usually, the equipment is always launched in pairs with a few days interval. The first device of the Venus-8 series safely arrived at Venus, but the second one was launched on March 31, 1972, and the launch failed due to the third stage of the launch vehicle not working, so he remained in low Earth orbit.
In other words, if he had reached Venus, he might have become Venus-9. At that time, the Soviet Union generally did not report unsuccessful space missions, so this automatic station in low Earth orbit was renamed Cosmos-482.
This is a very dense, heat-resistant titanium sphere with a diameter of about one meter.
We observed it when our telescopes could see it. Now, during the day, he crosses Russian territory and cannot be seen by Russia.
However, the Americans who used radar to monitor released data, clarifying its trajectory through measurement.
Initially, we thought he would arrive on May 10. Now, due to calm weather, the prediction has moved forward to before May 12 to 14.
Moscow will definitely not be affected, but southerners need to be cautious just in case.
Russian authorities warn those lucky individuals who may see a ball falling from the sky or already fallen that under no circumstances should they approach it or attempt to retrieve it.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1831151270640779/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.