“Riskthat the Soviet probe Kosmos 482 will fall tomorrow on Poland, it is now bigger than ever before! Tomorrow this extraordinary space exploration artifact will fall to the ground. Most likely – it will literally fall! ” – writes Karol Wójcicki, who runs a fanpage” with his head in the stars “.
When will Kosmos 482 fall in Poland?
On Wednesday, just after 12 Wójcicki reported that the uncertainty window narrowed to 10 hours. Kosmos 482 over Poland will fly twice at that time:
- Between 06:36:45 and 06:37:20, Trajectory: Jelenia Góra – Terespol;
- Between 08:06:30 and 08:07:50, Trajectory: Zielona Góra – Łódź – Włodawa.
Wojcicki pays attention to the second flight, because it falls into the center of the Uncertainty window (08:07:26), which is exactly during this flight over Poland. This is probably the probe then will enter the earthly atmosphere, being just over the territory of Poland“At this point, the probe will stay exactly on central Poland (around Piotrków Tryb. And Radom)” – wrote earlier Wójcicki.
Will the Kosmos 482 deorbitation be visible from the ground?
Deorbitation rather will not be visible In the Polish sky in connection with low clouds. However, deorbitation should be well audible. “If the probe entered the atmosphere above our area, after a few minutes we will most likely hear a loud bang associated with its transition to the subdivation speed in the lower layers of the atmosphere – just like it was during the entry of the remains of the second degree of Falcon 9 rocket” – writes Karol Wójcicki.
Why will Kosmos 482 not burn in the atmosphere?
Kosmos 482 is a Soviet probe, elevated to orbit in 1972. Usually “deorbitation of space garbage is not a major threat, but this time the situation is different” – wrote Wójcicki in the middle of the week. “It is an amazing object that deserves careful monitoring, with a titanium coating designed so as to endure extreme accelerationheat and pressure when re -entering the atmosphere of Venus. Weighing about 500 kilograms and having 1 meter in diameter, can survive and reach the ground almost intact” – explained EU SST.
Probe twin
The USSR launched two probes to reach Venus – Kosmos 482 and Venera 8. The latter “performed its task exemplary”. Venera 8 reached Venus “She landed softly and sent data on the temperature, pressure and light for over an hour,” writes Wójcicki. Kosmos 482, however, failed and instead of following your twin, the probe stayed trapped on an elliptical orbit Around the earth. “If this probe reached Venus, we would probably call Venera 9 today. One, after getting stuck in the Earth's orbit, the Russians gave it a designation typical of such orbits around the ground, i.e. space with number 482. And so this space 482 circled for decades for decades after a very extended orbit, a bit forgotten. Critical level, everything indicates that he will enter the atmosphere any moment and end his journey, “writes Wójcicki.
Sources: With head in stars 1 and 2