Soviet-Era spacecraft crashes back to Earth after 53 years

Soviet spacecraft Kosmos 482 reentered Earth's atomosphere Saturday morning after 53 years in orbit during a failed attempt to launch into Venus.

It was not immediately known where the spacecraft came in or how much, if any, of the half-ton spacecraft survived the fiery descent from orbit. Experts said ahead of time that some if not all of it might come crashing down, given it was built to withstand a landing on Venus, the solar system’s hottest planet.

The chances of anyone getting clobbered by spacecraft debris were exceedingly low, scientists said.