In the decades since its launch, the spacecraft circled Earth aimlessly as it was slowly dragged back toward home.

A Soviet-era spacecraft plunged to Earth on Saturday, more than a half-century after its failed launch to Venus. Related ...

An out-of-control spacecraft intended to reach Venus has instead crashed back down to Earth, and it might even have happened ...

After spending more than five decades in orbit, the final piece of Soviet rocket Cosmos 482 has finally crash-landed on Earth ...