It’s not every day that a space relic comes home. But this week, a forgotten Soviet spacecraft finally ended its long wait. After more than five decades in orbit, Kosmos 482 has returned to Earth. Launched in March 1972,

It was not immediately known how much, if any, of the half-ton spacecraft survived the fiery descent from orbit.

A Soviet-area spacecraft that orbited Earth for more than 50 years crashed into the Indian Ocean on Saturday, Russian officials confirmed. "The Kosmos-482 spacecraft, launched in 1972, ceased to exist,