COSMOS 1461

COSMOS 1461 is an active satellite operated by Russia (CIS), launched on 1983-05-07 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. With over 43 years in orbit, it has far exceeded many satellites’ design lifetimes. It orbits in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 422 km and 474 km with an inclination of 65.0°. It travels at approximately 27,524 km/h (7.65 km/s), completing one full orbit every 94 minutes — that’s roughly 15.39 orbits per day. At its current altitude, the estimated orbital lifetime before atmospheric re-entry is ~1–3 years. Orbital Radar tracks COSMOS 1461 in real time using the latest two-line element set (TLE) data, providing live position, altitude, speed and orbital path updated continuously.

COSMOS 1461 orbits at an average altitude of 448 km in the core of Low Earth Orbit, the most heavily utilised altitude band. The balance of moderate drag (limiting debris accumulation) and short signal path (enabling low-latency links and high-resolution imaging) makes this regime the default for most commercial and government missions. Within ±50 km of COSMOS 1461’s average altitude, there are currently 7,696 active payloads and 164 tracked debris or rocket body fragments — notable neighbours include STARLINK-1008, STARLINK-1012, STARLINK-1017. This makes it one of the more crowded altitude bands, containing roughly 44.2% of all active satellites. With an inclination of 65.0°, COSMOS 1461 passes over latitudes between 65.0°N and 65.0°S, covering most populated land masses in both hemispheres. This mid-inclination band balances global coverage with efficient launch energy requirements. Russia (CIS) operates approximately 1,285 active satellites in total, of which 57 share a similar altitude band with COSMOS 1461.