1,000 Pound Spacecraft’s Death Plunge Worries New Yorkers

An over-50-year-old Soviet rocket is crashing back into Earth and it could land somewhere in New York.

The Kosmos 482 probe was launched in 1972. It was meant for the planet Venus.

Soviet Rocket Expected To Come Crashing Back To Earth This Weekend.

The spacecraft failed to escape Earth's orbit due to a rocket malfunction and has been orbiting since 1972.

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The dead spacecraft is about the size of a car. It was built to survive the hottest planet in our solar system, and experts believe it will survive reentry to Earth.

Unclear Where Or When

According to The Aerospace Corporation's Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies (CORDS) 1,091-pound lander module is expected to reenter around 1:54 a.m., New York time, on Saturday, May 10.

Experts note the reentry time is "plus or minus nine hours."

The spacecraft could reenter anywhere between 52 degrees north latitude and 52 degrees south — an area that covers most of Earth's surface.

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The area covers New York, as well as parts of North America, Europe, Asia, and South America.

1 In 10,000 Chance Of Hitting Someone

Because over 70 percent of the Earth is water, researchers hope the rocket falls into water.

However, the chance it hits a person can't be ruled out.

Some experts some there's about a 1 in 10,000 chance of hitting a person.

"I expect it'll have the usual one-in-several-thousand chance of hitting someone," Astronomer Jonathan McDowell said. "No need for major concern, but you wouldn't want it bashing you on the head."

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Dutch scientist Marco Langbroek adds there's a "bigger risk of getting hit by lighting in your lifetime" then getting hit by the soviet spacecraft that's in it's "final death plunge."

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