DECAYED

COSMOS 482 DESCENT CRAFT, 6073 (Decayed)

Orbit data source: Space-Track

This object re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on May 10.

Based on aggregated results from leading surveillance and tracking sources, reentry likely occurred at 06:24 UTC on May 10, 2025. Analysis published by NASA indicates that the object landed in the ocean west of Jakarta, Indonesia. It is possible that the object survived reentry, but the object has not been physically located.

COSMOS 482 DESCENT CRAFT, 6073 was a payload satellite in LEO that was launched on Fri, 31 Mar 1972 UTC via an MOLNIYA 8K78M launch vehicle from the Tyuratam Missile And Space Complex (TTMTR).

This descent capsule was originally intended to reach Venus as part of the Venera program, but a failed upper stage burn left it stranded in Earth orbit. Designed to survive Venus’ extreme atmospheric conditions, it remained in orbit for over 50 years and reentered Earth’s atmosphere uncontrolled on May 10, 2025. Due to its rugged construction, it was one of the rare objects with potential to partially survive reentry. The object has now decayed from orbit, but estimates of the object's final reentry location are still uncertain. We will continue to monitor for confirmation on final landing time and location from official sources.

Not visible in the next 10 days
Identifier
6073, 1972-023E
Orbit
Decayed
Last TLE update
2 weeks ago
Origin
Manufacturer
Lavochkin
Mission
Decayed Civil Planetary
Bus & Motor
MV SA, Unknown motor
Mass
~495 kg wet, 475 kg dry
Launch date (UTC)
1972-03-31 (53 years ago)
Launch vehicle
MOLNIYA 8K78M
Launch site
Tyuratam Missile And Space Complex (TTMTR)
Object type
Payload
Rocket body
Debris
Shape & HBR
Sphere, Unknown HBR
Radar Cross Section
0.785 m², Medium (>0.1 m² and < 1m²)

Expand to show TLE details & history

TLE from 2 weeks ago
0 COSMOS 482 DESCENT CRAFT
1  6073U 72023E   25130.02495443  .08088373  12542-4  65849-4 0  9993
2  6073  51.9455 241.9030 0035390 103.6551  63.6433 16.48653575751319
Epoch: 2025-05-10T00:35Z
TLE epoch observation values (Epoch: 2025-05-10T00:35:56.062Z)
Latitude
9.66795°
Longitude
177.2276°
Altitude
132.768 km
Speed
7.835 km/s
True Right ascension
03h 37m 08s
True Declination
9° 36' 21"
Sunlit
Object was in daylight at epoch
Visualization orbit readout
Visualization observer readout
Orbital elements
Apogee altitude
166.44 km
Perigee altitude
120.28 km
Semi-major axis
6,521.497 km
Eccentricity
0.00354
Inclination
51.9455°
RAAN
241.903°
Arg. of periapsis
103.6551°
True anomaly
Unknown
Mean anomaly
63.6433°
Eccentric anomaly
Unknown
Mean motion
4.12119 °/min
Orbital period
87.35 mins
BSTAR
0.000065849
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COSMOS 482 DESCENT CRAFT Visibility

Observer location: undefined°, undefined°

This satellite is decayed
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