Today's Video Headlines: 05/01/25
It’s not just asteroids that are threatening to rock our world. A defunct Soviet satellite is slated to hurtle back to Earth next week, prompting concerns from space experts that we could potentially be in the line of fire.
Launched in March 1972 by the USSR, the Kosmos 482 probe was dispatched to gather data from Venus’ inhospitable surface,However, due to a malfunction with one of the rocket boosters, the intergalactic recon machine was left stranded in Earth’s orbit — literally spiraling out of control. The dead spacecraft — which is around the size of a car — is now on track for reentry sometime between May 7 and 13, give or take a few days.$66M experiment to 'dim the sun' to combat global warming gets OK — but critics have called it 'barking mad' Jesus' crucifixion linked to lunar eclipse, according to NASA discovery — and it could pinpoint the exact day he diedthat it is possible that the satellite could penetrate Earth’s forcefield and “impact intact” because it was designed to “survive passage” through Venus’ fiery atmosphere. He reportedly even concocted a model for the errant spacecraft’s reentry, which clocks the wreckage’s end velocity at 145 miles per hour-plus on the ground or ocean impact,MacDowell analogized this phenomenon to “a car falling out of the air at 100 to 200 miles per hour.”And while Langbroek noted that the probe was equipped with a parachute, he “wouldn’t bet on that working now, and would assume that, if it survives re-entry, it would come down hard.” “With a mass of just under 500 kg and 1-meter size, risks are similar to that of a meteorite impact,” he deduced. Thankfully, we don’t need to brace for deep impact just yet, per Langbroek, who pointed out that the “risks involved are not particularly high, but not zero.”The Venera 4, an earlier prototype. The Kosmos 482 “‘might well survive Earth atmosphere entry and hit the ground,” warned British-American astronomer Jonathan McDowell in a blog post.MacDowell seconded this assurance that we likely won’t get struck by the “dense but inert” space junk as most of the world is not inhabited by people.“If you land something in a random part of the Earth, the chance that it hits a person is about one in 10,000,” the expertHe quipped in the blog post, “No need for major concern, but you wouldn’t want it bashing you on the head.” As for where the haywire hardware will potentially land, Langbroek speculated that it could strike “anywhere between 52 degrees north and 52 degrees south latitude,” an area that encompasses “much of south and mid-latitude Europe and Asia, as well as the Americas and the whole of Africa and Australia.”In the event that the errant satellite does “cause damage – or worse, to hurt someone – that would be something that the Russian government would be liable for,” said MacDowell. Kosmos 482 was designed as a sister probe to Venera 8, which launched in July 1972 and landed on Venus’s sweltering surface, becoming the second-ever spacecraft to do so. Employee hospitalized, diagnosed with failed pancreas after US investment bank forced 110-hour work week: report Florida nurse's revolting excuse to husband after she was caught having sex with her 15-year-old stepsonRestaurateur Keith McNally boasts he felt like a ‘dictator’ when James Corden begged him to delete scathing post Alyssa Farah Griffin Says “You Gotta Respect” Bill Belichick’s Girlfriend Jordon Hudson After That “Wonderfully Awkward” Interview: “She’s Got Him Under Control”Ends tonight! 24 chicest sofas to snag during Wayfair's Way Day sale — cloud couches to futonsLast chance! The Post Wanted guide on what to buy during Way Day: Our favorites from the *big* sale that ends tonightThe Venera 4, an earlier prototype. The Kosmos 482"'might well survive Earth atmosphere entry and hit the ground," warned British-American astronomer Jonathan McDowell in a blog post.
Science Apocalypse Crashes Doomsday Satellites
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Isolated severe storms possible today in Alabama: When to expect bad weather todayRain will be possible on and off through much of the week.
Read more »
A failed Soviet Venus lander will fall back to Earth after being stranded for 53 yearsLeonard David is an award-winning space journalist who has been reporting on space activities for more than 50 years. Currently writing as Space.
Read more »
After 53 Years, a Failed Soviet Venus Spacecraft Is Crashing Back to EarthThe spacecraft suffered an engine anomaly that left it stuck in Earth's orbit for decades, and now it's slated for an uncontrolled reentry.
Read more »
A dead Soviet space probe from 1972 is falling back to EarthAndrew Paul is Popular Science's staff writer primarily focused on tech news. Previously, he was a regular contributor to The A.V. Club and Input, and has had recent work featured by Rolling Stone, Fangoria, GQ, Slate, NBC, as well as McSweeney's Internet Tendency. He lives outside Indianapolis.
Read more »
Kosmos 482: 1,000-pound Soviet Venus probe could crash to earth after 53 yearsTypically, the risk to populated areas is low, with debris more likely to fall into remote regions of the ocean.
Read more »
Donald Trump's First 100 Days, TODAY Show's New Cookbook: What to Know TODAYScott Stump is a trending reporter and the writer of the daily newsletter This is TODAY (which you should subscribe to here!) that brings the day's news, health tips, parenting stories, recipes and uplifting stories right to your inbox. He has been a regular contributor for TODAY.
Read more »