Soviet-era spacecraft 'likely' to have re-entered Earth's atmosphere [View all]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy9vz28nyedo

Part of a Soviet-era spacecraft is likely to have re-entered the Earth's atmosphere after being stuck in orbit for more than half a century, the European Space Agency said.

Kosmos 482, which launched in 1972 on a mission to Venus, never made it out of Earth's orbit and instead broke into four pieces that have been circling the planet for more than five decades.

The EU Space Surveillance and Tracking centre (SST) said one fragment - believed to be the lander - "most likely" re-entered the atmosphere at about 06:16 GMT (07:16 BST) on Saturday.