Kosmos 482: questions around a failed Venera lander from 1972 still orbiting Earth (but not for long)

I have just published a new article in The Space Review. It is freely accessible here.

It is titled "Kosmos 482: questions around a failed Venera lander from 1972 still orbiting Earth (but not for long)".

It is an in-depth look at the recent controversy surrounding 1972-023E, the Kosmos 482 Descent Craft, a piece of hardware from a 1972 Soviet era Venera mission to Venus that failed and got stuck in Earth Orbit.

In it, I think I can conclusively answer several questions around this object, including that it is the 'descent craft' in its protective spherical shell only, rather than a substantial larger piece of Venera hardware as thought by some.

The article includes evidence from my own observations (photometry); comparisons of actual orbital evolution with long-term orbital simulations with the General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT) for various objects associated to this launch; as well as radar cross sections published by CSpOC and LeoLabs. I also provide a new reentry forecast for 1972-023E

Read the article here on the website of The Space Review