Spaceflight

The Kosmos 482 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, now part of Kazakhstan, aboard a Molniya rocket on March 31, 1972. A short time later, the rocket's upper stage was supposed to propel the probe out of Earth orbit on an interplanetary journey toward Venus, where it would have become the third mission to land on the second planet from the Sun.

But the rocket failed, rendering it unable to escape the gravitational grip of Earth. The spacecraft separated into several pieces, and Russian engineers gave up on the mission. The main section of the Venus probe reentered the atmosphere in 1981, but for 53 years, the 3.3-foot-diameter (1-meter) segment of the spacecraft that was supposed to land on Venus remained in orbit around the Earth, its trajectory influenced only by the tenuous uppermost layers of the atmosphere.

The Aerospace Corporation's experts predict Kosmos 482 will fall to Earth some time nine hours before or after 1:54 am EDT (05:54 UTC) Saturday. The European Space Agency's forecast is centered on 3:12 am EDT (07:12 UTC) Saturday, plus or minus 13.7 hours.

The reentry windows will narrow over the next couple of days, but experts won't be able to pinpoint an exact time or location before the spherical spacecraft makes its final plunge.

Seven government departments issued a notice April 30 entitled “Regulations on the Management of Terminal Equipment Directly Connected to Satellite Services,” establishing the legal and technical groundwork for satellite connectivity aligned with national objectives.

The notice supports the development of direct-to-satellite communications, including infrastructure deployment, ecosystem cultivation, and broader integration. According to a Xinhua report, the regulations aim to promote the healthy development of satellite-connected terminal services while safeguarding national security and public interests.

The move takes place amid growing international competition and follows earlier developments in the U.S., with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last March approving the world’s first direct-to-smartphone regulatory framework.

While often described as direct-to-device (D2D) satellite services in Western industry, China’s new rules appear to refer more broadly to terminal equipment directly connected to satellites. This includes not only smartphones but also Internet of Things (IoT) modules, vehicle terminals and other connected devices.

The notice was jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Ministry of Public Security, and relevant administrations for cybersecurity, radio, film and television, customs, and market regulations.