Kosmos 482, Soviet probe of 1972, returned to Earth. There was waiting for the second passage on Italy, but with the risk of extremely low impact.
Update of 13:00 on 10 May 2025: Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, confirmed that the probe precipitated in the Indian Ocean at 9:24 Italian time.
Update of 11:20 on 10 May 2025: ESA (European Space Agency) communicated that the probe was not sighted by the radars in Germany and therefore it is presumed that it already precipitated (during the previous step she had been sighted. Where: at the moment it was not as a press release.
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The descent form of the Soviet probe Kosmos 482launched in 1972 as part of the Venera program And it was trapped in Earth’s orbit due to a breakdown, it is now under uncontrolled in the atmosphere. According to the official press release of the Civil Protection, the estimated window And From 3:17 to 12:57 Today, May 10th 2025.
There first orbit potentially relevant for Italy – between 5:03 and 5:04 – it has already passed without reports of impacts. Now the attention is concentrated on the second orbit, between 11:06 and 11:08which might affect Calabria, Sicily, Piedmont and Liguria (See map below)
The risk for Italy remains extremely low: the probability of a real impact is assessed in one on a million. The form, one titanium capsule designed to resist the atmosphere of Venusweighs almost 500 kg and could theoretically survive on the return.
The monitoring operations, coordinated by the Department of Civil Protection in collaboration with ASI, Air Force and other technical entities, are underway through a national technical table.
