"It'll hurt if it hits you": A massive Soviet rocket part will crash to Earth

After 53 years in orbit, Cosmos 482 will crash back to Earth in the coming days. More precisely, a piece of this Soviet rocket, weighing 500 kilograms, will re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.

Launched from Kazakhstan in 1972, the rocket was supposed to reach Venus, but the spacecraft's upper stage failed. "The upper stage failed to function properly and left the probe alone in orbit around Earth," astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell told Sky News.

According to space researcher Marco Langbroek, the fall could occur around May 10.

As early as 1980, parts of the rocket re-entered Earth's atmosphere, but one piece remained in orbit around the planet. It's difficult to predict exactly where this piece of Cosmos 482 will fall.

"If you're a penguin, you probably have no problem. But if you live anywhere from Chile to Scotland, you're in the zone," says Jonathan McDowell.

What are the risks? The rocket part "will only travel a few hundred kilometers," according to the astronomer. "That's still a half-ton thing falling from the sky at a few hundred kilometers per hour. It's going to hurt if it hits you," he says.

In recent years, the number of satellites orbiting Earth has increased significantly, driven by the activity of SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk. The American billionaire's company has 6,000 satellites in low Earth orbit and has received authorization to launch 12,000 modules.

This large number of satellites "is beginning to pose serious safety problems," warns the CNES (French National Center for Space Studies) . "The main danger lies in collisions between satellites and space debris," French scientists say. They estimate that there are 34,000 objects larger than 10 centimeters orbiting the Earth, including 9,000 active satellites.